A Far Cry From Tulsa
by TreesAreSnazzy
Summary: “So what did he do exactly; did he kill someone?” asked a boy called Tom. “Good as,” Anthony said. “Did he use a gun or what?” “No, he actually was a little less direct, clever really,” Anthony said.
1. Chapter 1

_ Megh: You wanna say the disclaimer, Ponyboy?_

_Pony: Not really but I will...haha I said that in the movie. Good times, good times..._

_Megh: Just say it already!_

_Pony: Sheesh, can't a guy just reminisce every now and then? _

_Megh: --glares--_

_Pony: She does not own The Outsiders._

* * *

Soda's POV --Day One--

"Darry, why do we gotta go?" Pony said, for the third time in a row and for the third time in a row Darry answered him.

"You know what happened, you guys were at the club, remember?" Darry was practically begging Pony to remember but for reasons we didn't know, he just couldn't. And it made things all the more worse.

"No, I don't remember it. I swear I don't remember it." Pony whimpered. He was staring out the window, but he wasn't really looking at the window. It's like sometimes I try to stare at one spot, it's easy to do on a wall or something, but when you're in a car the things around you get too distracting, add rain streaming down the windows and it's hopeless. But apparently not for Ponyboy because he was staring, his eyes glazed over.

"Buddy, I don't want you to go, you know that right? It was because you were at the club when it happened, Soda and Steve and Two-Bit, they were there, don't you remember?" Darry sounded like he might cry, normally that would scare Pony, it was scaring me. But Pony didn't seem like he was all with us right now.

"I don't think he can hear you," I told Darry quietly. It was the first time I had spoken since we woke up this morning.

"Pony, you have to remember, you need to," he paused before adding, "Sodapop remembers." When he said that I winced unintentionally. I couldn't forget.

"I'm sorry little buddy, I didn't mean it," Darry apologised.

"No it's ok, I just-I just wish I could be like Pony and just forget." I said. I held my breath, I'm afraid these tears I've been holding back all day will fall. They probably will when we leave Darry. I shook myself mentally. Don't think about that, it'll make things worse, it'll make you cry. Don't think about anything.

I must've done just that becuase sooner than I thought possible we were sitting in the parking lot at the airport.

"Come on Soda," Darry said gently. I wanted to sit there, not move. Act like a little kid who didn't get his way. This isn't fair.

Then as if reading my mind Darry said, "I know it's not fair, but things don't seem to go very fair for us do they, this whole mess? not fair at all." He sounded sorry, really truly sorry. I know I was sorry, too.

-------------------------------------

"Flight 125 to Providence Rhode Island, boarding, take off in fifteen minutes," came the false cheerful voice, it made me sick how bright and shiny it sounded. I forced myself not to make eye contact with Darry. Maybe he hadn't heard the announcement and we'd miss our flight all together. After about two minutes I figured he hadn't heard, and almost grinned, Pony and me weren't leaving. We'd stay here in Tulsa and we'd- "125, that's you guys,"

I looked up at him, silently pleading with him not to make us go. We could run, to Texas maybe. It's a big state; no one would find us.

"You know I hate to do this, but Pony will never go if you don't." Darry said and he stood up, waiting for me to do the same. I did after a few moments and since Pony had been leaning on me he stood up with me. Unwillingly my feet led me towards the gate, but before my foot would go over the metal line that separated the stable airport floor and the makeshift hall leading to the plane, I stopped. I turned suddenly, the lady taking boarding passes took a step back and flung myself into Darry's arms.

"I'm gonna miss you," I whispered into his shoulder. I was well aware that a sixteen year old crying into his brother's shoulder wasn't very tough at all but I didn't care. I didn't care at all lately. Other kids get to hug their parent's everyday, so why shouldn't I be able to hug my brother if he's just as good.

"I know Little Buddy, I'll miss you too." He replied, his voice shaking something awful. I could feel Pony lean his head against mine and Darry's arms like a little puppy. He had been acting more and more like a little puppy lately it seemed, ever since that day at the club.

"Boys, I'm sorry, but they'll be taking off any minute now and you really should get to your seats." Said the boarding pass lady kindly and I turned, wiping my eyes.

"Now Soda, you watch out for your brother and the both of you stay outta trouble, you hear me? Things will work out okay soon enough." Darry said. Pony and I nodded and we both gave him a quick hug back and then we set off down the hall. I felt like it'd collapse any minute, when I looked out the window it didn't look very steady. Before I could think too hard about it though, we were in the plane.

"Soda, why we here? Why we leaving, we didn't do nothing." Pony said panicky-like. I put my arm around his shoulder comfortingly.

"We went over this in the car buddy, the state-"

"No, Soda, why we here?" Pony half shouted. He tried to wriggle out of my grip but I held him down.

"Passengers, if you would please buckle your seat belts we can take off any minute now." The pilots voice came over the intercom.

"Come on Pony, buckle up your seat belt, alright?" I said patiently. He shook his head, tears falling down his face.

"Soda, I don't want to go, I don't want to go!" He gave up trying to push away my arm and fell down into the seat, buckling it up still whispering to him self, "I don't want to go,"

I didn't know what to do. What do you do when everyday your brother becomes more and more like the kicked puppy your buddy had become, except you couldn't see the kicks, you had to figure it all out for yourself? I guess that's why it's a good thing I could remember the night this all started. The night where all we had in mind was a show, some colors, and a good time…


	2. Chapter 2

_Darry: How come you didn't talk to us today?_

_Megh: Silence young one._

_Darry:x...wait a second, I'm older than you!_

_Megh: I SAID SILENCE!_

_Darry: --whimpers-- :x_

_Megh: --pats on head-- very good._

* * *

--Flashback-- 

I bounced on my toes excitedly. It was a cool crisp night and with every breath I took I felt more awake.

We were at a club that didn't have a name; it was far out on the edge of town. We wouldn't normally come all the way down here but my friend Ian Morse was the lead for his band and he said he could get all of us in for free.

It had been a lazy summer, not doing much of anything, so we took the offer eagerly. We invited Darry but like usual, work was the place he had to be. I wish he had come, I feel like if he had been there none of this would've happened. Or even better, I wish he hadn't let us go at all, said it was just trouble, Pony was too young. But he hadn't. We begged and told him how bored we were. Damn boredom. It plays tricks on you it does. Telling you it's there constantly and nagging you to do something when there is nothing. Then you go and do the first thing that shows up since you're so sick of it, little do you know if you had ignored it and stayed home, it would reward you with something exciting for your patience. Patience, something I've never had. Bored, what I always am.

"Hey guys, what are you doing standing out here? Come on inside, the other guys are already there." Ian's voice came suddenly accompanied by the slam of a car door. My eyes followed the sound. Ian had been standing on the other side of the street when he had first spoken but being a little over six feet tall, covered ground quickly and was standing next to us in a matter of moments. A surprising feat for someone whose words were slightly slurred and was holding a beer bottle in his left hand. You'd think hi being the lead singer and all he wouldn't go and get high before a show, but really it would've shocked me if he hadn't been. That's just the type of guy he was.

"Hey Ian, man, what's going on?" Steve said in greeting. Ian was in our grade and was still at school with Steve, he showed up at the DX to get his car fixed or some gas every now and then too. They shook hands and Two-Bit and Ponyboy murmured their own hellos and we set off towards the building ahead.

Inside it was nice, not hot like you couldn't breath and not cold like a person died in there, just warm. It was pretty crowded though, not that I minded. Steve and Two-Bit practically feed off crowds and I just like to be around people. Pony on the other hand seemed slightly nervous about all the people. He wasn't scared-like, he just doesn't like not knowing who can be there and the thought he could lose someone. Steve must have noticed the apprehension on his face because he said, "Hey kid, you better not do anything like beg Soda to bring you home. I'll be mighty pissed if you do." I glared at him and Pony shot something back and like usual it was the end of it. Two-Bit sort of rolled his eyes at them and we continued to wind our way through the thicket of people.

"How would you guys like to help me set up the lights for this show?" Ian said once we reached the back of the room where the rest of his band was getting ready to bring their stuff out.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously. He grinned like a chessy cat.

"Fireworks, man. The crowd loves it, trust me." Ian said as he opened a bag and pulled out several different packages.

"But we're in a building, you have to do fireworks-"I began but he held up a hand, still grinning. "Trust me, we're good."

"Ok, we'll help you out." I agreed still not too sure, Steve and Two-Bit looked like they didn't think it was too hot of an idea either.

"You just set 'em out like this," one of the band members with curly black hair demonstrated. His fingers fumbled as he put them out and following his lead we did the same. Our dad did fireworks on the fourth of July and he had let me watch. These didn't look much like his did. I shrugged ignoring this fact, figuring if they were going to do fireworks they must know how to it and grabbed another one. Pony put a couple down beside my first one.

"So guess you're going to start off the show with some lights and a bang, huh?" I said my happy mood from outside washing out anything else.

"Exactly, you're finally getting the idea. " Ian said. I stood up almost knocking a guy and his girl over and apologized quickly. I looked around and noticed Pony wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Where's Ponyboy?" I asked Two-Bit. "I saw him walk up the stairs, I'm sure he'll be right back. This place ain't too bad, better than Buck's. He'll be fine."

Steve and Two-Bit got a drink off the barman easily. It didn't look like much of anyone in the room was over the age of twenty-one but half the kids in the room had a beer on one hand. Maybe it's why so many kids were here in the first place. Ian left us to finish setting up and we just sat at the bar, joking and talking to familiar faces. Pony showed up a little while after, looking a lot more pale than he had when we got here but when I asked what was wrong he just shook his head and said he was fine.

"How's everyone doing tonight?" Ian's voice boomed through the microphone and several people cheered and whistled. I noticed Ian made his voice much deeper when he talked to the crowd.

"Ok, Great!" He cheered. The girls next to us were positively fawning over him.

"Ladies, what so great about him, I mean, when you can have me of course." Two-Bit broke in, a lopsided grin on his face. The blonde looked at him like he was something disgusting.

"He's everything you aren't and everything you wish you were." She said before standing up and turning on her heel, her sheet of gold hair hitting him in the face. I laughed, putting an arm around him.

"Better luck next time buddy," I said and he laughed too, well, he laughed after shoving me off my stool. As I picked myself up and dusted off my jeans the kid with the curly hair started playing his bass, followed by the drummer, it was a loud song that seemed to make the whole place pulse with the beat.

"Come on Ponyboy, there's a pretty little girl over there, why don't you ask her to dance?" I teased. Pony opened his mouth to say something but before he got out a word there was a loud bang and a collective gasp from the crowd.

"What the hell?" Someone screamed. I jumped up, stumbling in my haste and stared at the raised floor where the guys had been set up. An orange blaze glowed, illuminated Ian's confused features. Time seemed stand still when a series of what sounded like gun shots rang out, like a set of dominos, flames burst up along the wall.

People started to panic. There were two doors in the place, one of them was engulfed in flames the other had a table shoved in front of it. Several girls screamed and a couple of guys were yelling commands but not one single person seemed to be listening. They wanted out.

I grabbed the back of Pony's shirt but he pushed my hand away.

"No, wait!" he cried, trying to go in the other direction, like would go up the stairs. If he went up there he'd never get out and die for sure. I held tight to his shirt and shoved Steve and Two-Bit forward. I shoved us through the crowd and people grabbed onto us pulling us back, they wanted out too. I had to ignore them though. I needed to get my brother and friends out.

Someone had finally moved the table and there was something like a stampede. Everyone ran at the same time, people got knocked to the floor and people ran right over them. I made sure not to that the best I could. The room was getting hotter with every fraction of a second and the way the room glowed I know the fire was getting bigger. I slammed into Steve's back and it sent him and Two-Bit into a girl, we stumbled out the door and fell down the stairs. Steve smacked his head hard on the concrete. For a moment I thought I lost Pony, but he was sitting about two feet away from me. I think he thought he'd lost me too because within a second he flew into me, sobbing into my shirt. I asked Steve quietly if he was alright, he said he was but I took off my jacket so he could stop the bleeding anyways.

Minutes after we got out, fire trucks and cops came flying down the road. They screamed for everyone to stay where they were. I don't think I could have moved anymore even if I wanted to. Pony didn't talk one word, he just cried relentlessly. I had just noticed Two-Bit's shirt was singed and there was a red burn on his shoulder when a cop walked over to us. I expected they'd want to talk to everyone but what he said blew me away.

"Are you Sodapop and Ponyboy Curtis, Steve Randle, and Two-Bit Mathews?" We said we were.

"You need to come with me to the station now; several sources have informed us it was you four who set up the fireworks tonight."


	3. Chapter 3

_Two-Bit: Damn girl, you know how to screw up a song._

_Megh: Do you **want **to be locked in the closet with Patsy?_

_Two-Bit: Why would you lock me in the closet?_

_Megh: He asked me the same thing, and look where he is now._

_Two-Bit: She does not own The Outsiders! --runs and hides-- _

_

* * *

_

--Day One--

Someone was shaking my shoulder frantically. I opened my eyes slowly, scared of where I was going to be. I was in jail for sure. They had said they were taking us to the station…

"Were you having a nightmare?" Pony asked in a whisper. I took a shaky breath. Having a bad dream never scared me much, I could remember it had just been a dream and it wasn't real. But this was different because it was real and I couldn't escape it. And that scared me.

"Not a nightmare, no," I said, attempting a grin even though I knew I must be as pale as a ghost. Pony looked scared out of his wits and I felt bad I was the one that did it to him. It was so hard to get the kid for even a second in the day to not seem so upset.

"You were shaking," he said.

"Hey," I said, feeling some of the color come back into my face. "Don't worry about me, alright? It's my job to worry bout you."

"We're landing soon," Pony said vaguely. I nodded; I had figured I'd been asleep for hours. I've barely slept for a week and I just couldn't fight it any longer.

We went through the rest of the flight in silence. I flipped through a Boy's Life magazine and wondered why we didn't have boy scouts. Then I thought about how most little boys in our neighborhood were and realized why. Maybe them socy boys have boy scouts…I thought about that for awhile. The things we have and they don't. I try not to think about it much but when you do it really adds up.

When the plane finally landed I stood up and grabbed our bags from the overhead but I had to wait awhile before anyone was nice enough to let me step out into the aisle.

"Come on Pony," I coaxed. He didn't budge though. He was standing and shifting one foot around nervously.

"Move it, kid," someone muttered angrily from behind me so I stepped back to the seating bay.

"Do you think if we stayed on the plane, they'd bring us back to Tulsa?" Ponyboy asked. I smiled sadly because in the last moments before we landed I wondered the same thing.

"No buddy, they'd make us get off. Don't be scared, ok? I'll gonna be with you the whole time." I said. I managed to maneuver both bags onto my right shoulder and then grabbed Pony gently by the elbow. Gently so he wouldn't get scared but hard enough he knew we needed to leave and there was now if ands or buts about it.

Almost immediately after we got off the plane I felt lost. I didn't know where to go. I knew people got in trouble sometimes for hanging around airports and not going anywhere. I didn't want that to happen to us.

"Are you Sodapop and Ponyboy?" A deep voice asked from behind us. I turned around quickly. There was a man about 6'4" standing in front of me. He was a pretty big guy, but not too intimidating. He had a kind face. I was debating whether or not I should answer when a lady with silky brown hair and dark brown eyes followed by a boy who looked almost mirror image except in male form and about my age, give or take a year, came up next to him.

"Oh you found them! I guess they gave us the wrong gate number, I was afraid we wouldn't find them." She said as she smoothed back her hair, looking quite tired out. I couldn't imagine we looked much better.

"Yes, that's us," I said, trying to make myself sound more confident than I really was.

"Of course you are," The woman said, she was smiling now and it was a nice smile so I couldn't help let myself smile shyly.

"Well now I figure we should do introductions, well we're the Moran's, I'm Jill, the big guy is David and this is Anthony," I saw Pony next to me smirk slightly; it was the closest we've had to a smile in weeks. I knew why he was smiling like that, she sure had a funny accent. She pronounced David like Davit and Anthony like Ant-ny.

"You can call us mom and dad if you'd like, we don't mind." The slight grin slid off Pony's face like water running off glass.

It didn't matter how nice these people were, how nice they seemed I should say. We didn't even know them yet. But I did know a few things even if I was unsure about them. They were not my parents and could never come close. Ever. The closest we'd ever get was Darry and we'd been taken from him. Even if this place turned out not half bad, it'd never be Tulsa and I could never love it. I could never love them. Because it wasn't home, and they were not my family. And that's what matters most to a greaser like myself.

------------------------------

"Ok so, rules next?" Jill said, nodding to David. My feeling of discomfort only increased at those words. Rules of course there'd be rules. I had felt uncomfortable almost immediately after the house came into view, and it was evident on Pony's face he was too. It was a big house, not huge or anything but big. Jill told us it had belonged to her parents and her grandparents, so I bet they didn't have to pay a mortgage or anything like that. Once we were inside, Jill shuffled us up the stairs to our rooms so we could put our stuff away, then right back downstairs. "Family meeting," is what Jill had said.

"We only have a few rules in this house, and then there are the ones that are obvious. No one leaves without permission from Jill or I. Profanity, not acceptable. Respect is shown to everyone at all times, and that includes if I ask you to go to bed or do a chore, it's done. There's no roaming the house at night," David stopped a moment and smiled. "Don't feel like were firing off at you, this all applies to Anthony, too."

"You'll be fine here," Jill said kindly. "And at school you'll know someone. Sodapop, you're in the same class as Anthony and you'll probably see Ponyboy around. It's a small school."

"School, we're going to school?" I said incredulously. I hadn't even thought of school. I had already dropped out at home, but I didn't think of Pony going either. I thought it'd just be like he was taking a break from school until we got back home.

"Well of course you're going to school, why wouldn't you?" Jill asked confusedly.

"Uhh well, I'm a drop-out," I murmured, I could feel my face burning.

"The both of you will be in school," David said firmly and I nodded.

"Would you mind if we went upstairs? Pony didn't sleep on the flight and I'm real tired too," I asked, wanting to get out of that room right away.

"Of course, honey," Jill said.

I flung myself on my bed and Pony curled up by the footboard. I hated it here already.

"I hate it, Soda," like he read my mind. His hair wasn't greased so he could shake it in front of his face, hiding his eyes. I knew what that always meant. I motioned for him to come up and sit next to me.

"Naw, don't worry. It's going be fine. I bet you Darry's down with those state folks working things out right now." I said. I needed to be optimistic, for him at least. I hated to lie to him like that but if you could've seen him then. You would've said anything to try to make things better.

I glanced out the window. It was dark out. I could see the bay from the window. David said the Pawtuxet River runs into it. I wondered why he said it. They told us lots of weird stuff on the ride. Like the full name of Rhode Island is Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Small talk I guess.

"Can you hear the water Pony, the waves?" I said softly. He nodded.

"Yeah, I can hear it," he said. I let him lay down on my pillow.

"That won't be bad to listen to, and if we get sick of it just remember we'll be back to the screaming any day now," I joked as I stroked his hair gently.

"Go to sleep, alright?" I murmured. Minutes later I decided to follow my own advice.

"Are you flitty or something?" A voice said disgustedly. I groaned as I opened my eyes and the lamplight burned them.

"What? No," I answered sounded as equally revolted. I blinked a few times and saw Anthony leaning in the doorframe.

"Then what the hell is this?" he asked, motioning to Pony.

"He's my little brother! He's scared, what the hell is wrong with that? We just got shipped half way across the country and away from our brother and friends. You'd be scared as hell." I spat.

"I oughta tell my mom," he taunted. I jumped up.

"I oughta knock your teeth out," I hissed. His facial expression didn't change but something flickered in his eyes.

"Don't expect me to drag you around like the pitiful thing you are," he said. I almost laughed out loud. How weak.

"Don't expect me to care." I stared at him steadily in the face.

"Whatever," he mumbled under his breath before walking out the door. I got up and slammed it behind him, making Pony jump.

School will be fun, I thought to myself, kneeding my forehead with my knuckles.


	4. Chapter 4

_Megh: This is a boring chapter._

_Pony: Every chapter you type is a boring chapter._

_Megh: I thought you were all withdrawn and quiet, get into character already!_

_Pony: How can I be ooc if I'm being myself?_

_Megh: just shush!_

_Pony:X_

_--a few minutes pass--_

_Megh: What are you doing?!_

_Pony: you told me to shut up!_

_Megh: Well chyeah, I meant after you said the disclaimer._

_Pony: --mumbles under breath-- can never make up her mind the damn-_

_Megh: What was that?_

_Pony: Meghan does not own The Outsider._

* * *

--Day Two--

"Do I have to wear this tie?" I asked desperately. Jill looked at me reprovingly and my hand flung to my side. It was already starting to bother me again. Pony was staring helplessly at his own tie.

"Oh honey, do you need help?" Jill asked, even though she had already begun to tie it. While her back was turned I tried to loosen it at little.

"Leave it alone," She said firmly. Sighing I grabbed the bag David had given me. He gave one to Pony too.

"Now have a good first day, and just have a nice day Ant," Jill said as she chivvied us out the door.

It felt like something out of one of those movies Pony goes to see all the time. It all was just so neighborhood-y. The houses were mostly older, big with chipped paint but it kind of looked better that way anyways. The lawns were trimmed and the flowers in bloom, vegetable patches in the backyards. I don't mean to say they were all like that, but the other ones, the ones with untamed weeds and dingy windows you didn't notice so much.

"How long is the walk?" I asked.

"Bout twenty minutes, we're already halfway there though," Anthony replied uninterestedly.

We walked a little further before Anthony said, "Hey kid, what grade you in?"

"Um, tenth. I'm in tenth," Pony said quietly.

"I hate that class," Anthony said immediately. I had the distinct feeling in Pony said he was in second grade the answer would've been the same. Anthony had been liked this since we arrived. I had a good idea though. I don't think he had been as gung ho as his parents about have two "criminals" from Tulsa come live in his house. That combined with the fact he just didn't seem to be very nice.

"Well, here you are St. Peter's school." St. Peter's was a smallish red brick building with a big schoolyard to the right of it. The schoolyard was filled with kids from the ages of four to eighteen. I didn't know it was possible to fit that many kids in such a small school.

Anthony started towards a knot of kids who were sitting under a tree in front of the school.

"Hey Ant!" several of them called in greeting. A few girls giggled their hellos. The girls' uniforms were a blue plaid skirt, navy knee socks and a light blue polo.

"High schoolers on the lawn only kid," A guy with a chipped front tooth said.

"He is high school," I said. The guy looked to Anthony and he nodded grudgingly. Just then the bell rang and everyone walked towards the wall facing the schoolyard and began to line up.

"Come on, our line is over here," Anthony said, with the air of a suggestion that he was doing us a huge favor.

"Sophmores are that fourth line to the right," he directed Pony. I gave him an encouraging grin.

"See you later Pony."

An older teacher with short white hair stood in front of our line and led us into school. Inside was kind of dark and stuffy. It was obvious it was a school, but it didn't look like any school I'd ever seen. The halls were narrow and there were no lockers. And by the looks of it there was only one big hallway going down each floor. At Will Rodgers they had about four.

The best I could do was follow Anthony's lead. I followed him up the stairs and into the classroom. He walked towards the coat closet and hung up his bag, I did the same. But after that I had to make myself known to the teacher, there were no desks left for me once everyone sat down. I walked up cautiously to the teacher's desk that was facing the door but was against the windows.

"Excuse, ma'am?" I said. She turned around.

"This is my first day; I'm staying with Anthony Moran. I was wondering where I should sit."

"Oh yes, Sister Kathleen mentioned it to me. Of course, if you wouldn't mind pulling the desk up from the backboard and behind the first row that'd be excellent."

I nodded and did as she asked. There were a few minutes of the students talking among themselves. I was sort of surprised to see lots of the kids were just normal. I don't know what I had been expecting. Shining wood desks and kids talking about the problems in the world today? Maybe, but that wasn't at all what it was like. Some kids were quiet, nose in a book or just sitting with their hands folded. Some were loud, half kneeling in their desks and shouting to others across the room. A few couples gave each other quick kisses while the teacher's back was turned. They were just normal.

"Come on now, Our Father," The teacher said suddenly. There was a wave across the room as everyone stood beside their desk and folded their hands; the talking fizzled down after a few moments.

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name," the class mumbled. I followed along clumsily. I knew my prayers; I used to go to church with mom all the time and we went to Sunday school when we were little. But I had never been perfect at them, even at night I just sort of said stuff, not any real prayer. They went through two more prayers before they did the sign of the cross once more and everyone sat down. The talking started up again almost immediately.

"Attention up here please," The teacher called. "Miss Durigan, if you would so kindly sit in your own seat, thank-you."

"Ok everyone, in case you haven't already noticed we have a new student for the time being. He's staying with your classmate Anthony," she nodded in my direction. "I am Mrs. Strumolo, Would you like to introduce yourself?"

I stood up and wiped my sweaty hands on the front of my pants.

"I'm Sodapop Curtis," I said, and like I had expected the class broke out in murmurs.

"Mr. Curtis," Mrs. Strumolo said warningly. I grinned slightly. I always liked telling people my name.

"It's my real name, even says so on my birth certificate."

"Where you from?" a girl with curly brown hair asked.

" Tulsa, Oklahoma." A few girls giggled.

"He's a doll," another girl said in a whisper, but the whole class heard it anyways. I felt my face get hot.

"You do any sports? My name's Brendan by the way," a kid who sat in the seat in front of me said. I opened my mouth to answer but before I could make a sound Anthony cut me off.

"He's a criminal, you know," he smirked. I felt my heart skip a beat. A couple girls gasped and few boys actually looked surprised but no one looked as happy as Anthony.

"Mr. Moran!" Mrs. Strumolo shouted. He leaned on the back legs of his chair.

"What? I'm not lying or nothing," he said.

"Go to the office, now. And explain why you're there," She said. Rolling his eyes he got up and walked out the door. Several students were staring at me avidly.

"Eyes up here," Mrs. Strumolo commanded and the first period bell rang.

"Open your books to page 437 and read silently to 442. Discussion will take place in fifteen minutes." She walked over to me wordlessly and dropped a book on my desk. I opened it to the said page and just stared. There were too many words, they got all mixed together. I flipped to the next page idly only to turn it again so quickly I nearly tore the page. There had been a picture depicting flames. I read the captions for the pictures on the next page. From what I saw most of the chapter was about the Notre Dame cathedral.

"Notre Dame is known for it's beauty, it's structure, it's-"

"And it's hunchback!" I said suddenly. The whole class burst out laughing and I slid down in my seat. I hadn't even meant to say it, I was just remembering the story we read in 5th grade.

"Yes Mr. Curtis, and its hunchback," Mrs. Strumolo said in a voice that was telling me not to open my mouth again.

I made a certain point not to talk the rest of class and it was killing me. When Anthony came back in the room there was a sort of ripple across the room as the room turned to look at me. Mrs. Strumolo didn't see though, her back was turned. Then there was another wave across the room when the door opened and the class stood up.

"Good morning, Sister Kathleen," they mumbled.

"Good morning," she replied as she began to walk up the aisles.

"Miss Rovinski, rolling your skirt again?" She said. Rovinski stood a moment before pulling her skirt down to where it hung to the middle of her knees. Sister Kathleen was saying the same thing to many of the girls and there was much uniform adjusting. She called a few boys off for having too many buttons undone and when she got to my desk I prayed there was nothing wrong with my uniform.

"Roll down the sleeves, please. I won't count it against you since it's your first day," I rolled down my sleeves clumsily as she added, "and button the cuffs."

The class took this as another opportunity to talk.

"So what did you do exactly, did you kill someone?" a boy I knew was called Tom from the name on his composition notebook.

"Good as," Anthony said, he was close enough to hear. Tom turned to him.

"Did he use a gun or what?"

"No, he actually was a little less direct, clever really," Anthony said. I jumped up and slammed my fists down on his desk.

"Don't you dare say one more word," I hissed. He smirked looking at the teacher.

"He set a whole club on fire, tons of people died and it's all his and his snively little brother's fault."

I slammed my clenched fist into his face. Hard. Sister Kathleen gasped and before I knew it I was being dragged down to her office. And you know what's funny? Pony was already there.

_-----------------------------_

"Pony, whaddaja do?" I said, a hint of amazement in my voice. Pony had been to the office before, sure he had. He was a greaser after all. But it really was a rarity when he was. Even before all this, he had been real quiet anyways. Obviously at home was a different case, but in a public place like school he usually kept his head down and his mouth shut, there were too many other greasers running around for socs to notice too much. They sure as hell noticed when he was alone on the street though.

"I didn't do nothing," he said, a slight smirk appearing.

"Quiet out there, Sister Kathleen is going to be none too happy if I tell her you were talking." The secretary yelled from the next room. I nodded dolefully before turning my head back to Pony.

"Then why are you here?" I whispered.

"I told you, I didn't do anything. I wouldn't answer the teacher," He whispered back, sounding half scared half amused.

"Why not?"

"Cause I didn't like him. And all the other kids were staring at me." Any form of slight happiness was gone from his features and voice. Before I could say anything more, Sister Kathleen came through the secretary's door and sat down in the desk. She hadn't seemed mean this morning, strict you know, but not like I had expected a nun. Now she looked angry.

"So we have a fighter and we have a rebel," She said.

"Really I can ex-"

"Explain?" she said. " Let me guess, you're for peace. One of you beats it into the people while the other has made a vow of silence." Sarcasm rang out like a teakettle's whistle and it was not pleasant. I bowed my head, closing my eyes and stuck my hand out in front of her.

"Mr. Curtis, I beg you to tell me, what are you doing?"

I opened one eye and stared at her, she was staring back curiously.

"Ain't cha gonna whack my hand with a ruler or somethin'?" I inquired.

"No, not today at least," She said, I could tell by her tone though that they never hit their students.

"Huh, I thought they did that at all Catholic schools." She shook her head, smiling gently.

"Now that we have that matter set aside, we need to get to the reason why you're here. We do not accept fighting here."

"Let me tell my side of the story," I pleaded.

"Mr. Moran did not attack you, you attacked him. If it had been the other way around it would be a different matter, but it was not," She said.

"He provoked me!" I cried.

"I know Anthony quite well, he would not provoke someone especially a new student, someone sharing his home. And after his episode earlier this morning he would see to it he did not return to this office."

I slid down in my seat, folding my arms across my stomach letting out an agitated sort of sigh. It reminded me of the way Dally would sit as he was being questioned by the cops and wasn't too keen to answer.

"Now as for your brother," Sister Kathleen said. I sat up straight.

"Please ma'am, he's scared. We came all the way from Oklahoma and he misses our brother. Don't make him talk if he don't want to. He's just scared." I said desperately, hoping she'd let his offence slide.

"Ponyboy, I don't know why you did what you did but I must tell you we expect, no more than expect, require our students to respect everyone. Teachers included. Respecting someone requires you to answer when spoken to, especially in something as simple as roll call. Our school is quite respected in this areas and to maintain that respect we need to have respect within the institution."

"Do you know any other words for respect?" I asked curiously.

"Mr. Curtis, you had better quit while you're ahead because too many wrong moves and I will have to take more serious action. I hope I won't have to see you or your brother in this office any more but right now the future isn't looking to bright for you. You seem like you could be sweet boys with a real effort but as of now we don't need your type here."

I was stunned. I honest-to-God hadn't meant to be rude, I just wanted to know if there was another word for respect. By the end of her rant I hadn't even known what the word meant anymore. But what she said after made me almost wish she'd whacked me with a ruler instead. "We don't need your type," I had heard it a hundred times. Different words, different people. But it still stung and it stuck with me. What did she know to give us a type any how?

"Mr. Moran will be here in ten minutes." I hadn't even heard her pick up the phone, or heard her speak for that matter, I had been thinking too hard. I still pretended as if I was in deep thought. I had thought maybe she was alright, she wouldn't judge us. But I guess I was wrong.

David is a nice guy, but I had known from the beginning you didn't cross him. He wanted respect,there was that word again, actually he demanded it. He saw it as he was the bread-winner, man of the house, he was to be obeyed and you'd get along fine. But when he picked us up he was angry. Right steaming mad actually. He didn't say a word the whole ride home, I had hoped he wouldn't when we got home too. But of course he did. And he wasn't worried about inside voices.


	5. Chapter 5

_Megh: You know that picture of youse in the truck?_

_Gang: --various replies of approval--_

_Megh: Well, I thought of it today!_

_Dally: Why?_

_Megh: Because! At school today we had an assembly about paintball and the teacher said, "Hicks like me like to ride in the back of trucks." Get it? I thought of you because of the Hicks part._

_Darry: What do you mean, hicks? --cracks knuckles--_

_Megh: No! I didn't mean it like that, I'm saying liek you guys live in Tulsa, I live in the woods! It's like the greaser calls greaser, greaser thing!_

_Steve: Ok then, would you like to see a "hick" beat another hick?_

_Megh: --runs-- I don't own The Outsiders!!!_

* * *

--Day Two-- 

"Your first day of school and you've both already gotten detention?" David shouted. I stared at my scuffed loafers.

"Well, did you or did you not both get detention?"

"Yes, sir, we both got detention," I said. David paced the floor. Left foot right foot. He would walk five steps and then turn sharply in the other direction.

"Why did you get detention?" He emphasized the "Why," so severely I wondered if he doubted our knowledge of the word.

"I don't know, sir," I said, still staring hard at my shoes. I could feel Ponyboy slide a fraction of an inch closer to me.

"Guilty conscience, you can't stare me in the face when you tell me that?" David said. He had the voice of an Army commander and to tell the truth it scared me a little. I turned up my face to meet his eyes and stared unblinkingly.

"I don't know, sir," I said vehemently, not daring to break my gaze first. He stared angrily a few moments longer before turning on Pony.

"Ok, I'm sure I'll figure out exactly what he did either from Anthony or I might just have to call up Sister Kathleen myself. What about you, what did you do?" Pony didn't even look at him. He stared emotionlessly at the clock on the wall.

"I expect you to speak when spoken to," David growled. "So let me ask you one more time, what did you do to land yourself in detention?"

"I want to call my brother," Pony whispered.

"What did I just say?" David hollered.

"Hey, you said you want him to speak when spoken to, he did speak so he was doing as you said. It's not his fault your directions aren't clear," I spat.

"Get to your rooms now, I will deal with this once Jill gets home," He screamed.

I stood up quickly, ready to go to my room willingly, anything to get out of the room with him. Pony stood up next to me but rather than go around the couch and up the stairs he grabbed the phone next to him, and fumbled with the dial.

"Drop the phone, now!" David marched up behind Pony and grabbed his shoulder roughly causing him to drop the phone.

"Let go of him!" I said sharply.

"I want to call my brother!" Pony screamed, darting his hand out for the phone. David shoved it away and slammed the phone down on the hook and pulled the cord out of the wall.

"Let me call Darry, I want to call him now." David captured both of Pony's arms and frog marched him to the stairs and shoved him forward a little bit.

Ponyboy flew up the stairs, tripping on a few of them he was shaking so bad that he couldn't even keep his feet straight. I followed him, but not before glaring viciously at David.

"Pony," I said softly. "Ponyboy, it's alright. I'll figure out a way to call Darry tonight, ok?"

Pony was huddled on my bed, hugging a pillow to his chest, crying without really crying at all. The look on his face was really enough. I sat next to him and patted him on the head like a puppy, my way of telling him it was ok without having to say it over and over again. We waited like that till we heard the front door shut.

"You stay here," I commanded gently then I ran down the stairs. I skidding around thew corner, holding the banister so I wouldn't go flying out the window. I heard footsteps in the kitchen and with renewed speed I ran towards them, only to stop abruptly.

"Oh, it's you," I said.

"Yeah, it is. This is my house you know," Anthony replied.

"I know that actually, thank you," I said in a mock polite voice. "I was just looking for-"

The door shut again and I knew it was Jill this time.

"Jill, could I please call my brother? I know it's long distance and all but it's really important and Ponyboy needs to talk to him." I said in a rush.

"Calm down! of course you can. Now take a breath and there's a phone upstairs in the den, that way you can have a little privacy."

I nodded my thanks and ran back upstairs. I grabbed Pony by the shoulder and dragged him to then den. I had to dial the number three times since the first two my hands were flying I kept turning the wrong number. I set the phone down on the table so me and Pony could both talk to him. I hoped to God Darry was home. It rang three times before he answered.

"'Lo?" Darry said gruffly.

"Darry!" Pony cried immediatly.

"Hey buddy, it's Pony right?" Darry said. You could tell he was happy just by his voice.

"Me too," I said.

"What's up, Little Buddy?" He greeted me.

"Me and Pony both got detention today." I said. Just at the mention of it Pony paled the slightest bit, Darry finding out he had detention was never good.

"Why?"

"Just cause. I'll tell you another time. I don't know how long we'll have to talk. Pony really wanted to talk to you." I motioned for Pony to talk to him but he shook his head.

"Darry, I want to go home now. I hate it. Bring us home, please," I begged.

"I'm trying to get you guys home, I really am. Two-Bit and Steve are still stuck in the cooler right now, their trial is coming up soon. I'm trying to appeal their decision that you guys were guilty so you can come back here and they can try you and then they'll see your innocent. Please believe me, Ponyboy," Darry said, his voice nearly as pleading as Pony's had been.

We waited for Pony to answer him but he didn't.

"We believe you, Darry, really we do. You doing, ok?" I said.

"It's real quiet with you two," Darry said, his voice deeping the slightest bit.

"We'll be home soon though, we have to be," I said, almost desperately.

"Sodapop, Ponyboy!" Jill's voice carried up the stairs.

"Darry, we gotta go," I said.

"Alright, bye guys," He said.

"Bye," I had nearly hung up the phone when Pony screeched, "Wait!" he pulled the phone out of my hand.

"I miss you," Pony said softly. The line was quiet for a minute.

"I miss you too, both of you," He said. Pony hung up the phone and looked up at me.

"That's all I wanted to say." He turned away from me.

I nodded and slung an arm around his shoulder comfortingly.

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah. We better get downstairs now."

---------------------------

Pony and I ran down the stairs, not knowing what was going to happen. It was Jill who called us down, there was a good chance it wasn't bad. But there was a chance it wasn't good either. I figured either way it'd probably go better if we get there quickly.

I tugged Ponyboy into the kitchen by the collar of his shirt. Sitting at the table was David, looking considerably calmer, Jill, looking extremely perplexed, and Anthony, looking as smug as ever.

"Yeah?" I asked, my chest felt tight, I hadn't realized until then I was a little scared. I had seen the way David reacted to anger, I could see I was ready to see how Jill dealt with it and I felt sure it wouldn't take much to get David fired up again.

"You attacked Anthony?" Jill said faintly. Anthony looked at the wall, it was apparent on his face how hard he was trying to hide his laughter.

"No!" I cried desperately. "It wasn't like that. He said, he said something and-"

"What could he possibly say to cause you to hit him? He's barely spoken to either of you at all," Jill said. She looked like she was torn in two. She wanted to believe me but she wanted to believe her son. I gave her that much credit.

"If you would just let me tell you the damn story," I said, my temper rising.

"Watch the language," David said through clenched teeth.

"I come home and Anthony tells me that he was just talking to you about the school and out of nowhere, like a madman, you jump on him and punch him! You punched my son and don't tell me you didn't because he has the beginning of a bruise right there," Jill said.

I let out a grumble of anger and let my elbows fall of the table, my hands clenching my hair.

"Let me explain ok!" I shouted. I didn't wait this time for them to give me permission.

"When the teacher asked me to introduce myself, he told them I'm a criminal and he got sent to the office, I bet he didn't tell you that part did you? Even the teacher heard so you can go ask her if you don't believe me. Then when he came back some kid asked me what I did and he," I pointed at Anthony. "Told them I killed someone!"

I really felt like crying, honest to God, at that point I would've run all the way back home to Tulsa just so I could sit in my own room and think and cry if I really wanted to.

"I'm sure he didn't mean-"David began in an attempt to justify his son.

"He did mean it just the way he said it and you probably told him to watch out because I might kill him in his sleep or something, didn't you? We didn't have nothing to do with what happened and you, Mr. Moran, probably wanted to act like some tough jailer guy, you can take care of you're own bratty kid, which I must compliment you own because he is the worst, absolute worst kid I've ever seen. And I know some real hoods, but you probably figured that though. Well hate to break it to you buddy, but me and Pony didn't do anything that night and I've been to jail once in my life, for walking on my damn hands on the damn sidewalk. Oh my lanta, you've got a real criminal on your hands, huh? And Ponyboy, never been in trouble with the law in his life, saved a bunch of kids from a fire once though."

I was practically screaming at the top of my lungs and my breathing was ragged. Pony looked scared of me. I looked at him, hoping he could read my gaze telling him to come after me, because I was leaving that house right then and I didn't feel like saying one more word.

He read my look right because when I turned to run out the door I could hear footsteps behind me. I knew it was him because he wasn't running to catch me, he was running to catch up.


	6. Chapter 6

_Megh: It's short again, and so is the disclaimer._

_Pony: She no own._

* * *

--Day Two-- 

I ran down the street, wind whipping in my face. It had been warmer earlier in the day, but as it was nearing suppertime it was much cooler.

I had no clue where I was going, I just wanted run as far away as I could. Pony's always been the best runner out of the three of us and he caught up to me quickly. He didn't say anything, not because he didn't want to, just because the only thing on his mind was running. Just keep running.

One, two, three, four, five. I counted my steps. There was a rhythm to my running that was keeping me from crying. It was constant and never changed. I liked that a lot.

I took a sharp right, down a road shaded by trees. I slowed for the first time and walked. My eyes were watering and my throat was burning. I rubbed at the corners of my eyes and surveyed the place I led my brother to.

It was a park, there was a swing set down on the other side and in the middle was a gazebo. If I looked directly in front of me, there was a boathouse and I could see a dock peeking around the corner.

"Lets go over there and sit," Pony breathed, pointing towards the swings. I only nodded since I still didn't have enough wind to speak properly. Pony was out of breath, but nowhere near as bad as I was.

The swings faced the bay; the sun was setting over the houses on the other side. It looked like the water was glowing orange and pink the way it reflected the sun. I thought it was pretty, but I didn't think anyone could appreciate it more than Pony did. It was apparent on his face how much he really thought of it. His eyes were glowing softly and he smiled.

"He just wanted to believe his son," I said, not believing the words coming out of my mouth. Pony turned to face me, his head titled to the side slightly.

"Huh?"

"David. Don't you think, even if we were the worst kids ever, Darry would still defend us?" I said.

"Yeah, I guess," Pony said, still not getting what I meant.

"It's still no good reason, but I don't think they really know how Anthony really is. I mean, he's nice enough to them and parents always want to see the good in their kids."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Pony said. "But we didn't do anything bad."

"No, nothing bad," I agreed, Pony didn't sound so sure though of it though. I watched his expression carefully. I couldn't quite read it. He knows none of this is our fault, our whole being here, but he was upset. I could tell it wasn't just about getting detention, or not being home though. There was something…sad? Yeah, he was said…I was, too. But it was different, almost like pain. Yeah, I think that's what it was, pain.

"Ponyboy, you can tell me anything. You know that, right?" I said softly. He stared at the ground and nodded.

"Then why won't you tell me what's wrong?" He dug the toe of his shoe into the soft ground.

"Pony come on, don't stop talking now. You know you want to tell me; you're scared is all. I won't be mad whatever it is," I said gently. He shook his head.

"No. You will be mad. It wasn't my fau-" his voice trembled and broke. "You'll be mad."

I shook my head, not understanding. Why would I be mad at him? What wasn't his fault? He wasn't making sense.

"Pony, I swear to you, I would never be mad. You're my brother, how mad could I get at you? Well, I might be bad if you did something stupid, like...took all my clothes and gave them to some Granny to cut to pieces into a quilt," I said, laughing feebly.

"I wanted to go Soda, but you guys, you guys wouldn't," He let his arms fall on his knees and put his head in his hands, kicking of the ground a little so he swung the tiniest bit. I jumped off my swing and pried his hands off his face gently.

"What wouldn't we do?" I asked gently. I wasn't quite sure who "we" were; I think it probably referred to Steve, Two-Bit and I though.

"You wouldn't let me go, you wouldn't let me go-" he motioned out at the bay hopelessly, trying to get me to understand but he couldn't quite get the words out.

"Calm down, just slow down and say what you want to, alright? I'm not gonna be mad," I said soothingly.

"I wanted to help her Soda, I really wanted to help her," he muttered, shaking his head.

"Help who, Pony?"

"It was like the church with Johnny all over again, man," he half-whined.

Before I could even ask him what he meant he started to tell me between gulps of air and short bouts of babbling about what happened that night at the club, what was making him hurt so bad. What to him was like falling into a bad dream.

------------------------------

"When you guys started setting up the fireworks, I didn't really want to cause it seemed dangerous an' all. You know dad never let us help. Plus they aren't the smartest guys. So I went on upstairs to just wander around for a while and I heard someone yelling and I was walk away but I heard someone crying…someone little. It was a little girl, couldn't have been more'n six or seven. Guy was yelling at her for still being awake and she was just crying and crying. Then the guy slammed the door and I heard the lock click and him coming round the hall. I didn't seem them but I knew he must be a big guy cause he steps were real heavy and loud like when D-Darry comes home from work at night. I saw him later though and he was a big guy, mean lookin', too. I just went to help you guys with the fireworks and kinda forgot about it. I forgot about it until the fire started. I was all for running right out but then…I don't know, Soda. It was scary. I thought you were Dallas and I thought Johnny was already in there helping everyone out. I thought we were back in Windrixville. I never wanted to go back there again. I knew that little girl was upstairs and I thought Dally wasn't letting me go cause he wouldn't that day, he told us not to go but I guess it was you. She died and it's all cause of me. I coulda helped her, I knew she was up there but her daddy wouldn't let her out and I knew she was there, Soda. Then I saw her later on, outside all burned up. Her dad didn't even look at her."

I stared at Ponyboy, wide-eyed. This is what happened? I didn't imagine it was anything like that…Pony thinks he killed someone, it was like Bob all over again. Something in Pony's mind, he was always unsure, afraid he did something wrong. We've been walking on thin ice our whole lives, in our neighborhood you gotta be careful to never get involved in anything like that. Ponyboy just took it more seriously then others. Too seriously and he just couldn't help it.

"Soda, I didn't mean to kill no one," he half-whimpered.

"You didn't kill anyone," I said fiercely. "If I had let you go, you woulda died and she would have, too."

"No, no, no," he whispered. "It's all my fault. Someone died and it was all my fault."

I was sitting in the sand under the swings, totally helpless as what to do. How am I supposed to convince him this wasn't his fault?

"Pony, you didn't do anything. We didn't do anything. Not one thing. We're going home soon." He stared at me with wounded eyes. I hesitated before adding in a softly, "I promise."

It suddenly felt so much colder than it had been all day, much more like I expected it to be. The sand felt like ice under my hands.

"I may not have killed her, but I let it happen. Does God forgive you for things like that?"

"Pony, o'course. It wasn't our fault what happened so I dunno, God wouldn't hold it against us or anything, 'sides, don't you ever wonder if things happen for a reason?"

Pony busied himself wrapping the chain of the swing around his hand.

"I just want to know I'll be able to see mom and dad again," he whispered. He makes me want to cry so bad sometimes. He slid down from the swing and I pulled him into a hug. We'd see our parents again.

He's seen too much to be innocent, but he is. There's barely a boy in my neighborhood left like Pony, probably barely a kid in the world. Maybe it's not innocent exactly...maybe more he lets himself believe everyone once in awhile what other people wouldn't dare to, the world isn't so bad. There's socs, sure, state people. But he thinks maybe, if people like that were gone...and then it just stops, something interferes with his thinking and it's disappeared again, that single thought that if it were true, the world could be a perfect place is gone. That makes me want to cry more than anything.


	7. Chapter 7

_Megh: Ok, so I'm so sorry for no updates, really and truly. I have exams coming up and I usually update in digital portfolio since I finished a wicked long time ago but I had to do my exam so I wouldn't come in on exam day._

_Pony: Exams are nothing._

_Soda: What's digital?_

_Megh: Oh it has to do with computers._

_Soda: What? Only like...NASA uses those._

_Megh: You just wait Sodapop, you just wait. Now say the disclaimer for the nice people who are seeing you across the country._

_Soda: I don't own The Outsiders?...huh?_

* * *

--Day Two-- 

"We have to go back, you know," I said. Pony nodded. We had since left the park and were just wandering.

"I'm kind of surprised at how warm it was today," I said. I was just trying to give us something to talk about.

"It's cold now," Pony pointed out.

"Yeah, but earlier today it was pretty hot, I thought it was always cold here." I could see a smile flicker across Pony's face.

"It's not Alaska," he said. I cuffed him playfully.

"Well no kidding, Alaska's warm all year round." Pony laughed.

It was a small sort of town we were staying in, Gaspee is what the sign said at the park. There were little restaurants and shops on the sides of the road where a bridge crossed over a river. We sat down in front of an ice cream shop called Dear Hearts.

"You know, it wouldn't be so bad here if it wasn't for the reason why we're here," I mused. Pony gave me a funny look before saying, "I guess so."

A bell jingled and a pleasant looking woman exited the ice cream shop.

"Hello, I've never seem you boys around before," She said, smiling.

"Well we're from Oklahoma, so I wouldn't expect you, too. It's nice to meet you," I said politely.

"Would you boys like some cookie dough? I usually give it away to someone at the end of the day."

"That would be really nice of you, sure, alright," I said, a little surprised since after today no one had been very polite.

She re-entered the shop and reappeared a few moments later with two hunks of cookie dough on wax paper. She set it down on the table.

"All the kids love it, I'm surprised no one has showed up yet asking for some. I think I should give it to you boys though, to make you feel welcome. Enjoy it." She gave us one last warm smile before bustling back into her shop.

Pony and I ate the cookie dough. It was good like she said and I was rather enjoying it.

"Well think about it, Pone," I said suddenly, continuing our conversation. "I mean the people seem okay, like that lady there-"

"Not the Moran's, or the teachers," Pony cut it.

"Yes, not them," I agreed. "And the houses are nice, a little old, but still nice. It's kind of pretty and not so hot."

"I'd still rather be in Tulsa, I don't ever want to live anywhere but there," He said quietly.

"You know I would, too. I'm just thinking about it," I said.

"Maybe we oughta walk back now." Pony stood up and faced the direction we came in. "You know the way back?"

"We don't need to leave right now, if you don't want," I said.

"No, we need to go back there. We'll never get home if we don't, Soda. We need to go back to them, for now." Pony's voice quivered but his expression remained stoic.

"Don't act like that Ponyboy," I pleaded.

"Come on, we need to go back."

We entered the house quietly, braced for the explosion. I was thouroughly suprised when we spotted the Moran's sitting at the table, eating supper quietly. When we walked into the dining room, their low murmur ceased. Finally Mr. Moran spoke up.

"Ponyboy, I'm sorry if I hurt you," He said. Pony's eyes widened.

"Oh," Pony said softly. Mr. Moran sighed, he had probably expected an "it's ok," but it's not as if Pony had actually spoken directly to him yet, why start then?

"We're upset with you boys, you've broken many rules today. We did expect a few behavioural problems based on your background-"

I made a funny noise in the back of my throat but Mrs. Moran didn't waiver.

"But not this. You've left without permission, sworn at us, you haven't shown anyone any respect today. This is not acceptable. David didn't mean to get so worked up earlier but you boys led him to it! Trust me, if Anthony did any of this it'd be the same."

From Anthony's smug smile I gathered that last statement wasn't true.

"You've dig yourselves deep enough, now follow me," Mr. Moran said as he began to walk down the hall. I swear I'm not making it up when I say that when I walked past Anthony he hissed, "Not since I was nine."

-------------------------

I wouldn't say it anywhere but here, I cried. Yes, I most definately did cry. I was embarrassed. "I want to go home," played over and over again like a crazy mantra. I pictured my real family. Dad, who raised his voice but rarely yelled. Mom, who nearly always sought out everyone's story and listened fairly. Darry, who had hit Pony once and regreted it the moment his hand hit his face.

I cried. But do you blame me?

I could hear Mrs. Moran screaming herself hoarse at Ponyboy and from him? I heard not one sound. She was screaming because he had tried to get up and leave but Mrs. Moran had refused to let him by and he slapped her arm away, hard. That's why she was screaming bloody murder. And Ponyboy sat there on the couch and took it all it. I remember her shouting at him for not paying attention to her when she spoke, but the detail Pony included when telling me what had happened proved he had listened to every single word.

"Ponyboy, just go to sleep now."

"No. I can't sleep here, not ever. We're going home, I don't care if I'm being a baby, we're leaving, Soda."

"Nope, we gotta stay here. Just for now. I know I keep saying it but we gotta."

"Even after tonight?" Pony's voice was shaking with anger now. "Tonight, Darry would want to hear about, and you know it. You know it even better than I do."

I leaned back on my bed and chewed my lip thoughtfully. After a long time, I spoke again.

"We'll call him tonight, when everyone's asleep, from the phone in the den down the hall." I said, whispering and not really knowing why. The door was shut.

"What will we tell him? We need to know what we're going to tell him."

"Okay, well first off we'll explain the detentions." Pony opened his mouth in protest. "We're telling him, this isn't back home. He's not going to yell at you."

Hours later Pony and I were each in our own rooms. Pony's room was directly next to mine and as secluded as I felt and wished there was some sign of somebody else being alive, I was glad it was impossible for me to tell he was there. It meant the walls were thick and if we shut the door when calling Darry, hopefully no one would hear us talking.

Even later, I was staring at the bottom of my door where the light came through, waiting for it to go away. At some point, I didn't know when because there was no clock in the bedroom, three pairs of footsteps went by, altering the light. I knew they were just getting ready for bed though, and Mr. Moran and Mrs. Moran probably stayed up awhile and talked or read or something before they were half dead and turned the light off._ I_ was nearly half dead when they finally did.

Even after they turned off the hall light I still had to wait for them to fall asleep. Sneaking around at night requires a lot of time and a lot of patience.

After literally hours, I finally opened the my bedroom door, praying to God it didn't creak. I crept to Pony's room and opened his door slowly. The scene that unfolding before me made me smile a little. There was Pony, sitting at the writing desk by the window. His head was propped up on his arm and was titled dangerously towards the table. Beneath his elbow was a half done sketch of the bay just behind the tree, really good, like a real artist. It was real good, except it had a jagged black mark down the middle that seemed to have been made in an act of anger or frustration, if I could draw, I'd probably do the same thing. Not draw a picture...but put a jagged mark down a page. Or...not put a jagged mark since I'm not drawing a picture...yeah, never mind.

I shook Pony's shoulder and his elbow slipped out from under him and he hit his head on the solid wood table.

"Oh, sorry!" he yelped, blinking at me blearily. "Is it too late now?"

"No, shh!" I hissed in reply. "Come on we're doing it now, you gotta be quiet."

"This house is older then Darry thinks he is so it probably creaks and shit so just watch where you're stepping."

Ponyboy nodded and we scurried across the floor. Just as I was ready to open the door I turned abruptly, causing Pony to slam into my shoulder.

"Nice picture by the way." He gave a sort of grimace as he glaced over his shouder.

"You know, you don't have to hate the picture because you hate the place."

"Whatever," he muttered as he pushed me out of the way and opened the door. His eyes had brightened the slightest bit.


	8. Chapter 8

_Megh: It's 10:56, I haven't updated fanfic this late in ages!_

_Two-Bit: --girly voice-- I haven't updated fanfic this late in ages!_

_Megh: --narrows eyes-- Keith...No._

_Two-Bit: O.O WELL since Meghan is so sweet and nice I'll do the favor of telling you She does not own The Outsiders._

_Megh: Oh, how I love muses._

* * *

--Day Two--

We slipped down the hall like shadows, holding our breath for fear of being heard.

The house was spooky at night, being as old as it was. There was a bay window at the end of the hall, the moon painting the floor white. Pictures lined the walls and I couldn't help feel like the dead were staring at me. Not to say the pictures were of dead people, actually in passing I noticed most of them were of the Moran's themselves or included Anthony. But aren't the pictures always of dead people in Scooby Doo?

We ran as we passed the Moran's bedrooms and it took all of my might not to slam the den door behind me when we finally made it there. Pony dashed in before me and I stood and closed the door slowing, wincing when it clicked. When I turned, Ponyboy was sitting in the chair directly next to the phone, chewing his nails nervously.

"Dial it," I whispered. Taking a deep breath as if getting ready to plunge into icy water, Ponyboy snatched up the receiver and spun the dial as quickly as he could. I wondered vaguely how it worked. When we got home, I'd ask Darry. If I still remembered that is.

"Why isn't he picking up?" Pony said. I leaned closer and I could hear the phone ringing.

"It's Monday night, he has work in the morning," I replied, feeling my stomach drop to the floor. What if he didn't pick up?

"Hey."

"Darry," Pony sighed, relieved.

"Ponyboy, what's up? It's 11:27, I was asleep already."

"Sorry I woke you but-"

"You're not hurt are you, you only called a few hours ago, is it Sodapop?" Darry babbled.

"No, we're okay, but we need to tell you some things," Pony said.

"What type of things?"

"Just…things," Pony said. He was quivering like a leaf just thinking of _things. _I felt myself frown when I thought of the Ponyboy back in Tulsa who wasn't jumpy and scared or afraid to tell people things. It's like that night made him reverse in years and stopped somewhere around ten years old, when he was just starting to understand the soc-greaser issue and a shadow in an alley made him jump a mile for fear of getting jumped. Funny how no socs bothered him when he was most scared they would and when he was fourteen and could stay cool in front of a whole pack of them they decide the time is right.

"Give me the phone," I said gently, gesturing for him to hand me the phone. He shoved it at me.

"Hey Dar, we don't got much time as they don't know we're up calling you," I said quickly. "So just listen."

I explained the detentions and how Pony still had barely spoken to anyone but me. When I told him about the way David handled Pony he made a noise of protest but I ignored it and continued on, glancing at the door every five seconds, deathly afraid someone would have awoken while I was talking.

Every now and then I repeated things since I was in such a rush to tell him every little last detail that I forgot where I was, but I got through that okay. The only real problem I had was explaining my punishment for my outbursts throughout the day.

"He did not," Darry growled menacingly. I nodded then realized he couldn't see me.

"Yes, he did. On the back of my legs though, so I wouldn't have any trouble you know…" I trailed off, feeling the heat come off my face.

"Mom and Dad wouldn't like that all, not at all. I don't care if it's common punishment, they didn't believe in it. I'm not going to go to work tomorrow, I'm going straight up to the people who sent you guys there in the first place and telling them what's going on, they haven't done much yet with Steve and Two-Bit but-"

"How are they?" I said suddenly. There was a sharp twinge in my chest as I thought of my friends.

"They being held up in the cooler, Two-Bit says it isn't anything like Dallas cracked it up to be. But no for real, they aren't getting very far. The day after tomorrow someone is finally coming to talk to them about what really happened, but maybe I can get it to happen tomorrow. I'll do anything and everything I can and I'll call you both tomorrow night, savvy?"

"Yeah, I savvy," I swallowed hard and glanced over at Ponyboy, who I had nearly forgotten was there. If I could forget him when he was sitting right next to me… "Just don't forget okay? Don't forget to call."

There was silence for a moment and I was sure the line had gone dead.

"No, I won't forget. I couldn't forget," Darry said thickly.

-----------Day Three----------

Breakfast was unbelievable, totally and completely unbelievable. You wanna know why it was so unbelievable?

So me and Pony go straight to bed after talking to Darry. Well actually, not straight to bed since I went to Pony's bedroom and we talked for a little bit and Pony said he still couldn't sleep so I said for him to tell me something he remembered from when we were little. He told me bout the first time I rode Mickey Mouse and how round then Dallas was still the scroungy little kid who tried to sneak into rodeos, only to get tossed out by the scruff of his neck kickin' and hollerin'. He was mid-sentence when he nodded off. It was late then and I was more tired than I had been in a long time and I was already lying on this little couch type thing at the foot of Pony's bed and it wasn't real comfortable or nothing but comfortable enough that I could fall asleep.

So obviously if I'm sleeping in Ponyboy's room I ain't gonna be in mine but Mrs. Moran didn't seem to understand that because at 7:30 in the morning, me being tired from lack of sleep, she was shouting across the house to Mr. Moran how I had run away again, because I wasn't in my room. She didn't even think maybe I was in a different room, or maybe I could have been up and showered. Did she think I was a hood who didn't shower? She hadn't seemed as if she did the other day, when we met at the airport, but her feelings had obviously changed since then, as did mine.

When Mr. Moran said rationally, although loudly, that maybe I was somewhere else. I mentally gave him a pat on the back, at least he had a little sense.

You might be wondering why I didn't just get up and poke my head out the door and show them I had not run away, because honestly, I didn't feel like it. I wanted to cause them any grief I could without it really being my fault. I almost did do that though, but I reminded myself of the night before. If he sets his mind to it, Sodapop Curtis can be mean. Though that's probably not what most people would really consider mean.

I know I still haven't gotten to telling you why breakfast was unbelievable, but I'm gonna get there, trust me. I just want to make sure you don't miss nothing.

So after Mr. Moran said I could be in the house still she stopped shouting and came into Pony's room, to ask him if he knew were I was probably, and found me laying on the comfortable enough couch.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked.

"Laying," I replied.

She was standing in the doorway like I might attack. Pony sat up in bed and blinked a few times, trying to focus his eyes and look taken aback when he saw Mrs. Moran standing there.

"Well stop laying around and get dressed, we're having breakfast with the Banglin's in an hour and you two need to get washed and dressed, you're both," she hesitated a moment. "You're both handsome boys but people aren't going to be able to tell if your faces aren't washed and you aren't in day clothes."

The tips of Pony's ears turned red. She was being a little nice, but I had a feeling one wrong move and it'd be no nice. She was still scared though for no real reason and that bothered me, we aren't any hoods. Before Anthony went and started running his mouth we were perfectly polite, even.

So we got dressed and washed up and headed downstairs. Bursting into the kitchen we realized the Banglin's were already there. Mrs. Moran gave us reprimanding looks, she had said an hour, and it had only been half. We wouldn't have burst through the door if we'd known people were there. Typically we wouldn't even have burst in if we had known Mrs. Moran was there, but I bet she'd be hollerin' again if we dawdled to long and she probably wanted help or something.

"Sodapop, Ponyboy, you noticed our guests have arrived?" she said coolly. Me and Pony both dropped our eyes to the floor embarrassedly and mumbled an apology and a hello.

"Now, if you don't mind, I need to go talk to David for a moment," she said politely to the guests. "Sodapop, I'm sure you can cook, would you mind watching these eggs for me?"

"No, I don't mind," I said. I shuffled over to the stove and stirred the scrambled eggs in the pan. An idea came to me. Mrs. Moran would be happy, I bet.

"Pone," I said. He was writing his name in a dusting of sugar on the counter. "Pone," I repeated. He looked up. "Find me some food coloring, alright?"

"Soda, people don't like their food to be colors they're not supposed to be." He said.

"You do, Darry don't mind it either," I said, slightly hurt.

"No I like it fine, keeps me from getting bored, but people like this…" he trailed off.

Determined to do something right, I disagreed.

"They'll like it I bet! Watch, you don't know what you're talking about," I said confidently. Ponyboy shook his head.

"I don't know what to tell you," he said.

"Don't tell me nothing, just help me find food coloring."

The Banglin's were smiling at me, they were an older couple who were distantly related to the Moran's and were there to offer Mr. Moran a job. I grinned brightly back at them.

"Well isn't that creative," Mr. Banglin chuckled. Mrs. Moran gaped; this was not creative in her opinion.

"Just like the book," Pony said. Mr. Moran's eyes widened, Pony had spoken directly to someone.

"You got a couple of gems here," Mrs. Banglin said. "Most of the time the boys who come into foster homes aren't always the best of the bunch, but once in awhile you get a few special ones."

Then ones who "aren't always the best of the bunch," were the boys from our neighborhood. Me and Pony exchanged looks.

"Oh yes, of course," Mrs. Moran said faintly. "Gems, right gems. And creative, too."

"So Green Eggs and Ham, a personal favorite?" Mr. Banglin said, chuckling again.

"Yeah, but that's 'bout it, I'm not much into reading. Ponyboy here though loves to read," I said, punching him on the shoulder affectionately. "What's that one you like so much?"

"Gone With the Wind," he said. Mrs. Banglin sort of clapped her hands together.

"Oh, I love that book! Isn't it just a wonderful love story?" she said. Pony's face had been glowing like a matchstick the whole meal.

"Oh yeah, I guess," he said.

"Joe," Mr. Moran said. I furrowed my eyebrows together, who was Joe?

"Yes, Dave?" Mr. Banglin responded.

"I hate to come off as blunt, but I really need to know, do I have the job? I could enjoy this…great meal even more if I knew."

The Banglin's exchanged uneasy looks, apparently they had both been feeling the same thing. Mr. Moran wasn't the one.

Mrs. Moran hurried to get their jackets and Mr. Moran held open the door, they both kissed Anthony on the cheek before leaving and once they did, it was like all the good feeling in the house had left with them.

"Green eggs and ham for breakfast, you knew he would turn me down didn't you?" Mr. Moran growled.

"No, I was trying to help, they liked it!" I said. How could I possibly control what Mr. Banglin thought?

"You are absolutely ridiculous, you didn't seem it at the airport, you both seemed bright but I obviously was wrong. I should have at least figured it out when you mentioned be a dropout but I figured I'd give you a chance; the school probably kicked you out! What school would want two hoodlums like you? Ridiculous."

The words slapped me hard in the pit of my stomach.

"Get out of my sight, I can't believe I ever agreed to this."

"Sir," I said uneasily. "Aren't we going to school?"

"You have a teachers day today, of course you aren't! Unless you'd like to sit alone in a classroom, maybe you'd pick something up then," he shouted. I bowed my head, we just got there, I didn't know the schools schedule. Why am I the idiot here? I turned away silently and trudged up the stairs.

I couldn't believe we were still there.


	9. Chapter 9

_Megh: Did you know I don't force the greasers to say the disclaimer because I'm lazy, it's actually because it's too painful for me to say? Well I'll say it, just for today. Idon'towntheoutsiders. _

* * *

Darry's POV --Day Three--

"Someone will be out here in a few," said the man in a blue police who was sitting at the front desk, tipping his chair back precariously on its back legs. He sipped on a mug of black coffee; I felt a sharp knocking behind my eyes when I remembered I hadn't had even a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," I muttered gruffly. After nearly a half-hour argument of almost-shouting-but-not-quite-shouting they had finally decided we could do the questioning today rather than tomorrow. I don't quite understand why they didn't get deep down into it sooner; it's been nearly two weeks since it all happened. They aren't exactly a great system, the legal one we've got. Look where it landed Pony and Soda.

There was a bruise spreading across my knuckles on my right hand, some bonehead dropped a hammer while working up on a roof and my hand was right in its path to the ground. I rubbed it trying to figure out how badly it hurt. I could almost hear my mom's voice from when I was younger, fussing over the many bruises I had from scuffles and play. _"Darry, don't keep prodding it, it'll only get worse." "I think it looks tuff, Ma."_

The door directly across me opened, my head snapped up.

"Darrel, what are you doing here?" asked a cop, who was wearing the same blue uniform as the one at the desk. A pin on his chest read Isaacs. I knew him.

"My buddies are here, I'm supposed to be there for a grilling," I replied, looking down. I didn't want to see how his expression would turn in confusion as he would think of the only one of my friends who had ever been here in the big house, not just the little pen at the station, the one who was dead now. "Different buddies."

"Oh," he nodded. He knew Dallas Winston alright, but unlike other cops his name wasn't mentioned with a scowl and utterance about hoods but instead was mentioned with a sort of smirk and remark about being a kid like him once. He was okay. For a cop. He glanced over his shoulder then looked back at me.

"Come on, Evans is the one examining those kids you were talking about, he's standing around with his coffee. We'll get him moving so you won't be hanging round here all day."

I muttered something along the lines of a thanks and he nodded again. He knew how us greasers feel about cops, acting decent to us is the only way you can come close to being on good terms with us.

I followed him up the hall, my hands shoved deep into my pockets. He led me up to a doorway where two cops were laughing and talking.

"Hey, Evans, this kid is waiting for you to move your ass and get to those kids you need to question so he ain't here all day," Isaacs said. Evans gave him a sort of glare before sighing in an annoyed sort of way.

"I gotta go beat a few answers out of a coupla punks, see ya," he said to his friend. My hands clenched into fists.

"Come on Evans, if I remember right you weren't exactly an angel when we were in high school," Isaacs said. Evans snorted.

"They were friends with Dallas Winston," he said as if that settled everything. I shut my jaw tight against any remarks that may have come up. This was not going to be fun.

--------------------

"Get over here," Evans said gruffly when he threw open the cell where Two-Bit and Steve were. I slid out a bit so I was standing more beside Evans then I was behind him so they could see I was there. Two-Bit slapped his knee.

"Yeah!" he cried joyfully. "Knew you'd be coming up here soon, Stevie boy here didn't believe me though." He turned to Steve. "By the way, that means you owe me twenty when we get out." Steve snorted but he also was smiling just the tiniest bit. Evans looked more than annoyed at how happy Two-Bit was.

"Well kid that might be a lot longer off then you're thinking," he growled. Steve narrowed his eyes. I noticed Two-Bit patting his back pocket out of habit, searching for a knife, after he got that fancy black-handled one of his taken from him when Dally died he had to just use his plain ole' pocketknife always. I'm not saying I think he'd pull a knife on a cop anyways but I think it probably made him feel a lot better knowing it was there. Evans raised his eyebrows challengingly. I prayed Two-Bit wouldn't say something smart as he was known for doing and that Steve wouldn't lose his temper. They both stayed quiet. Who knew, Two-Bit Matthews can keep his mouth shut.

"Didn't think so," Evans sneered.

"Think we could possibly move along?" I questioned irritably. After all, I'm not the one in a cell.

"Yeah, I got a hair appointment in an hour," Two-Bit said. Well there goes that. Steve ran a hand roughly across his dark hair. Short, dark hair. Both of them had been forced to get it cut.

"Shut it," Evans spat. He grabbed Two-Bit roughly by the shoulder and slapped cuffs onto him, then did the same to Steve a few moments later.

"What's this?" Steve half-shouted, his shoulders hunched up tensely.

"Don't, we're just going down the hall," I said in a low voice. He eyed Evans warily, his shoulders slowly relaxing. Evans gestured for us to follow him.

As I trod along behind Steve I couldn't help make a face at the cuffs holding his hands behind his back. Unfair. They didn't do anything to deserve that. A person should always have the right to have their hands ready.

Evans shoved Two-Bit and Steve into the room a little more roughly than necessary. Both of them were steadily turning redder in the face with anger. Just keep your cool a little longer guys, I thought. They could do it but Evans was going to make it mighty difficult for them. Right from the start I could figure out what type of cop he was. Isaacs mentioned them being in high school together but Evans must've been a few grades lower because he definitely looked younger. You could tell he hadn't been on the force long. The swagger, just the general look. Like he knows anything and holds your future in his hands, which sometimes he does. I bet on every cop's first day the chief stands up on a chair and holds up one picture, it'll show a boy wearing a madras shirt, high-waters and cheery smile. "This boys, is a soc. He is a asset to society." He'll say. Then he'll hold up a picture of a boy wearing jeans and boots, his hair slicked back and a scowl on his face. "This boys, is a greaser. He is a menace to society." He'll say. Well, I bet he'd say that if he knew what a soc was. Most adults don't. But by God, they do know the difference between us.

We entered a room painted mustard yellow and smelled like cellar mixed with blood and sweat. It was dingy and windowless.

"You gotta take these off us?" Steve asked as the three of us sat down. It was just like in those JD movies. There was a table, a chair on each side so the two people can glare at each other until one cracks. Except Evans set up two more chairs so one side there were three rather than two. Me, Two-Bit and Evans sat down.

"Lets cut to the chase, I know there's no way this is going to be easy, but I'm gonna give it a shot," Evans said. "Did you or did you not set up those fireworks?"

"No," Steve and Two-Bit both said at the same time. I had to admit they sounded like two little kids just asked if they were the ones who put the cat in the wash, guilty as hell. They must've realized it too because in a blink they were both looking as cool as ever.

"Alright boys, tell me the truth, these are people's lives you took. We ain't playing some little game of Cowboys and Indians where the people who die can just jump back up once everyone else is dead."

"We didn't kill nobody, we helped set up those fireworks but we didn't know they were screwed up. We didn't want to set them up," Two-Bit said, he leaned forward a bit, his hands smooshed against the back of his chair. Steve just slouched down, practically snarling.

"What about you, what do you got to say about this?" Evans asked Steve.

"Same as him," Steve said coldly. "And if you're going to ask us questions at least ask us meaningful ones. Even bother to find out why he's here?" he jerked his head in my direction. Evans turned his eyes to me, they were black like Johnny's.

"Why you here, bub?" he asked derisively. I gave Steve a little look out of the corner of my eye, a thank-you.

"My two brothers got sent down to Rhode Island because it was the only choice other than jail and they're still younger than these two even if only by a little in my middle brother's case. They didn't do nothing wrong so there's no reason for them to be there or for these guys to be here. To put it simply your system sucks and something needs to be set straight here and you need to put the right guys behind bars," I said. I would have said a lot more, too, if I knew I could get away with it. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table. Two-Bit looked at me almost longingly, that's how bad he wanted those cuffs off. He had to sit there looking like a chicken with its wings crooked. Evans stared at the three of us for a long time.

"You," he pointed to Steve. "Will tell me what happened first, the full story, no lies. The both of you," he pointed to Two-Bit and I. "Will wait in the next room under the supervision of Isaacs meanwhile. No funny business, no nothing. Cause I swear…" he trailed of threateningly.

"Okay, deal," I said.


	10. Chapter 10

--Day Three--

"So how often you gotta babysit kids like us?" Two-Bit asked Isaacs cheerfully. I don't know how him and Soda do it, that happy thing. Totally goes over my head.

"It's my job, meet some pretty interesting kids, too. Though I gotta say most of them aren't all that willing to be watched," he replied with a grin. I could tell he liked Two-Bit the same way he liked Dally. They were both different types of animals than one would normally see.

"You know I babysat a few times," Two-Bit said wistfully. I rolled my eyes. "But one time the kid ended up in the hospital and the other times my momma said she'd feel safer leaving my sister with the Shepards. Still don't know what she meant by that..."

"I know them Shepard kids, you must me a piss poor babysitter," Isaacs said. Two-Bit grinned wildly and nodded. "Yeah."

It felt like Evans was taking forever talking to Steve which didn't make much sense to me, Steve's a pretty straightforward guy. If Evans asked him a question he'd answer it quickly, even if it was edged with attitude. I could see the two of them talking through the window in the room but I couldn't hear them.

Evans looked like an angry lion the way he was leaning on the table, shoulders hunch and teeth bared as he spat words at Steve.

"Personally I think greasers these days are getting _much_ too out of hand, I mean, I got this friend Keith who can't go into a store without nabbing _something_..."

Evans was standing up now, a fist clenched at his side. I shook my head slowly as I watched them and wished Two-Bit would stop blathering behind me. I couldn't read lips and listen to him at the same time. But I had a feeling even if Two-Bit did shut up I still wouldn't be able to understand what they were saying, the words were just too angry.

"Hey Isaacs," I said slowly.

"-and I'm not saying it's entirely the greasers fault you know, the clerks should be watching more carefully. I reckon if they were keeping a more watchful eye on Keith he wouldn't be able to walk out with stuff. But then again, he is a pretty slick sonofagun."

Evans raised a the fist he'd had clenched, his knuckles shone white in the cheap lightening, and as quick as a snake slammed it hard as he could against Steve's cheek. His chair tottered back a little but he managed to wrap his foot around a leg of the table and pull himself back steady.

"Isaacs!" I shouted. Two-Bit finally shut his mouth and the two of them looked over to me. I pointed to the window. "Did you just see th-" Evans let his hand shoot out in an attempt to box Steve's ear but Steve moved just in time so his face got the full blow.

"You two, stay here," Isaacs demanded. Two-Bit and I exchanged looks. Exactly why you shouldn't trust cops, though it seemed a funny thing to think when a cop was rushing to help one of us.

Isaacs wrestled Evans for awhile, trying to pin him to the wall. Once he did he slammed Evans arms against the hard concrete several times, shouting in his face. It was like watching one of those old silent movies, the way we could see all the action but not hear a sound. Isaacs pointed back to Evans chair and shouted a few more things before Evan sat down, rubbing his arms.

Isaacs grabbed Steve's shoulder, not in the rough way Evans had before, but in a way just so he could make sure Steve got to his feet steady. He led Steve away, who looked over his shoulder the whole time glaring at Evans.

"What'd he do that for?" Two-Bit asked the moment Steve stepped into the room. Steve let out a short bark-like laugh.

"He didn't like the story I gave him, said it was wrong if I wasn't pleading guilty and asked me to give a better answer." He licked the blood off his split lip, trying to figure out the damage. "Bit my tongue, too," he muttered under his breath.

"This is what's gonna happen, you two are gonna go in with Evan's, he ain't gonna pull anything with you in there with no cuffs on. You're just as big as him," Isaacs said. I smirked. "So he's gonna hear what you gotta say and see if he can help you out with your brothers."

"He won't do nothing about my brothers," I said.

"Oh, yes he will. Trust me. If he doesn't listen to you with an unbiased mind, I'm going to be forced to report to the cheif. Buddy boy don't want no trouble."

--

Isaacs opened the door so Two-Bit and I could leave Steve who was mopping up his face (Isaacs uncuffed him so he could take care of himself, Steve had nearly thrown a fit at the prospect of someone else touching his face) and head over to the room where Evans was brooding.

"Hey, any chance you can uncuff me? You saw what he did to Steve and although Darry is _pretty_ strong-" Two-Bit paused a moment and looked at me. "He's not exactly up on his game and it'd probably be safer. I'm only saying 'cause I care about Darry's well being." Evans simply laughed and patted him on the back before shutting the door behind us.

"You didn't actually think that'd work, did you?" I muttered. Two-Bit shrugged. "Was worth a shot."

I stared at Evans a moment before sitting against the straight-backed chair. Two-Bit had tried to kick the chair round so he could sit it backwards but after a few futile attempts he must've decided it wasn't worth it and realized he'd probably look just downright silly and left the chair where it was (facing the right wall) and sat.

"You," Evans said, pointing at Two-Bit. He craned his neck so he was looking at him. "I got a feeling you're gonna give me the same long story your buddy did so I'm gonna be short with you."

"Aw you don't gotta do that, you could be tall if you really want, I don't find height intimidating," Two-Bit said easily. Evans took a deep breath.

"So, are you still pleading innocent or have you decided guilty?" Two-Bit looked at him gravely.

"I ain't guilty of nothing but being innocent. Same as that kid in that other room and those kids you stuck over in East Guam," Two-Bit said seriously, being more serious than he had been all day.

Looking irritated at Two-Bit's answer but figuring he had to accept it, he jotted down a note on a yellow pad.

"Now you," Evans began. "Are hear because you want to discuss your brothers, am I right?"

I nodded.

"Yes, that's right," I replied. He scratched his head with his pencil leaving a shadow of gray in its wake.

"Well I guess what we're gonna have to do is have a trial, get your brothers to talk, these guys. The ones you keep saying set up the fireworks…"

"How soon can we do that?" I asked, not breathing. Two-Bit wasn't breathing either, just staring with his lips slightly parted like he was ready to protest anything that might come up.

"A week or so I'd say," he answered, not looking up from the yellow pad. Relief spread from my fingers down to my toes.

"So that would mean my brothers would be here, home, in a week maybe less?" I said, afraid it might not work that way. He gave me an odd look.

"Yeah, I spose it'd mean that." I grinned at Two-Bit who looked just as happy. Two-Bit…I looked over his head and could see Steve through the window, talking to Isaacs.

"What about them," I said slowly. "Two-Bit and Steve, when would they be out?"

"Two-Bit?...Oh yeah, you. Well if we had the trial in a weeks time your brothers would be here a bit before that and then it could be a one day thing…well if you won they'd be out that day."

"So is that gonna happen, are you sure?" I said.

"Yeah, it was a plan all along, needed to see if I could get the truth out of you first," he said.

"You got some interesting ways of getting the truth out of people," Two-Bit muttered. Evans didn't hear him.

"So we through?" Two-Bit asked. Evans nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

Two-Bit and Steve had to go back to their cell and I said I'd come tell them after work tomorrow if Pony and Soda said anything, they wanted to know how they were doing. I felt bad about leaving them behind but they're tough, they could handle it.

I was walking out to where the lobby area was where I had waited earlier but when I touched the doorknob and turned to face Evans.

"You know why my brothers got sent halfway cross the country, really?" I asked. He didn't answer right away.

"Yeah. So they could get away from whatever they did, wouldn't have to deal with so many people knowin'." I nodded understandingly. "That and we had to get them away from people who might influence them further; family, friends."

I turned the knob and walked away. Knew I hated that guy.


	11. Chapter 11

_Megh: It's a filler chapter, so sorry. I really am, but I'm at total loss right now, but don't worry, I'm not gonna cut it!_

_Two-Bit: That's what she told the last readers. --nods wisely--_

_Megh: I did not, prove it!_

_Two-Bit: Fraid I can't do that. You deleted all the chapters, and then killed all the readers so they couldn't give you bad reviews about stopping cold turkey._

_Megh: I guess that means there's a way to also say I do own The Outsiders._

_Two-Bit: --looks horrified-- Oh God! I'm leaving._

_Megh: ...that got rid of him, obviously I don't own The Outsiders._

* * *

--Day Three--

I trudged up the cracked cement walk, the gate clanging as it swung back into place. I could see a dark, curly head through the window. I placed my bets on Tim Shepard; the only other guy I knew with hair like that was his own brother.

Sure enough when I walked through the front door Tim Shepard was sitting on the couch, tossing a roll of gauze back into a worn brown box that held things like pills and other doctoring stuff that either Two-Bit had swiped while hanging around at the hospital or things we'd just acquired over the years.

"Get in a fight, Tim?" I asked gruffly as I strode across the den. I leaned into my bedroom and threw my car keys onto my bed.

"Yep," he called from across the house, "Just sliced my hand on a knife when I went to shove it out of the guy's hand. Woulda done it at my house but you were closest. Plus Angel probably woulda thrown a fit." He laughed. "Girl told me she'd fuckin' beat my ass if I kept getting in fights all the time, with a mouth like that I don't doubt it neither."

I grabbed the box and shoved it under the bathroom sink.

"I bet, I've heard Pony saying before 'bout how she gets into shoving matches with other girls in the schoolyard."

Tim laughed again.

"Man, I know it. That's my sister for you."

He stood up and slunk over to the door and had one foot out on the porch when he turned to face me.

"I was just rememberin' about Ponyboy and Soda being sent down there, I been put away enough to know it ain't no picnic, specially for those kids. Not that they ain't tough," he added hurridly. "They're good kids is all. Even with the murder rap Pony's got caught up in, still good kids."

I nodded, not knowing what else to say and not bothering to remind Tim they weren't at any reformatory. When the screen snapped shut on its hinges I sat down in the chair that was positioned directly across from the door. When I picked up the phone and began to dial I noticed the paper on the table I felt a déjà vu like sensation. Just like that night Pony fell asleep in the lot. Me sitting on the phone, with the paper next to me. It was just as dark now as it had been at two in the morning. The only thing missing was Soda snoozing on the couch and Pony coming in through the door looking like he might've just walked to his death. Or ultimately his friends, I thought, but quickly shoved it away. Someone had just picked up.

"Yeah?" an irritable voice answered, I immediately knew it was Anthony. From what Soda told me the kid was a right ray of sunshine.

"Are Ponyboy or Sodapop around?" I asked, wrapping a thread from the hem of my shirt around my finger.

"Hey you!" Anthony shouted. "You gonna talk if I give you this phone? I forgot you were a selective mute." There was a scuffle of shoes on the floor and then Pony was on the line.

"I thought you weren't gonna call," Pony said into the phone, so soft I could barely hear him.

"Promised I would," I said. "I never lie to you."

"I know," he replied, I could hear a smile in his voice. I quickly unfolded the story of what had happened at the jailhouse, Pony breaking in everyone once in awhile to comment.

"Two-Bit actually said that? God, he's crazy. I'm surprised Steve didn't all of a sudden find out he had superhuman power and broke right through those cuffs when that cop guy punched him," Pony said, clearly very excited about hearing from me about the boys.

"Yeah, he was mighty pissed," I said. Pony laughed softly.

"Where's Soda anyway?" I asked curiously.

"He had to help David dock some boats, don't know why he couldn't get his own son to do it." I could hear Anthony in the background.

"Because, that's poor work. You can't believe I'd actually do it? He'd of made you go, too but you're too weak."

There was no sound from Pony.

"Kid leave him alone, alright!" I shouted into the phone, hoping he could hear me.

There was a loud clattering noise, the phone hitting the floor? I knew the sounds of a wrestling match anytime, and there was a full out one going on there.

"You ain't gonna talk-" Anthony panted before slamming the phone down causing the line to go dead. I groaned. One thing was clear, no matter whether Pony was talking or not he still didn't use his head. That and the phone bill was going to huge this month.

Soda's POV --Day Three--

I stumbled through the door, completely exhausted. Right when Anthony, Pony, and me were about to go on inside the house after walking home from school, David had grabbed my arm and steered me towards his red Vista Cruiser. "Ponyboy," he shouted over his shoulder. "You stay in the house, you hear me? You boys are still in trouble for the stunts you pulled this week. And Pony?" Pony looked up, he had been writing his name with the tip of his shoe in the dirt. "Stay clear of Anthony.I can see the two of you don't get along too well."

I hoped Pony had listened, but a loud crash told me otherwise.

"You ain't gonna talk to your brother, you've had your one phone call already, you criminal!" Anthony screamed. I ran into the living room wearing one shoe, I had kicked off the other one practically before I had even gotten through the door. My one shoe-edness gave me an uneven gait so I nearly fell on my face several times before reaching the brawl that was going on in the pristine whitewashed living room.

"What the hell is going on in here?" I shouted, struggled to get my other shoe off. I fell off balance and crashed into a side table. Pony was pummeling Anthony, getting the best of him until Anthony gave one giant push and shoved him across the room. Pony fell into a rocking chair so hard it tipped right over backwards.

"Your retarded brother just jumped on me, both of you are insane skitsaceramic or something!" Anthony screamed as he made a lunge at Pony. I caught one of his shoulders and knocked his knee out causing him to fall to the floor. Jumping on top of him, I socked his shoulder hard, even harder than I had punched his face in school. He didn't make a noise, not because he's tough, but because it hurt bad enough that he couldn't barely even breathe.

"Now do you want me to hit you again?" I said calmly. He stuck his chin out defiantly, ready to start cussing me out, no doubt. I slammed him hard again."Are you gonna tell me what happened?" He nodded pitifully. I was actually pretty shocked he was backing down so easily. I knew he was mostly talk, but this? I almost had ot feel bad for the kid. Imagine being _that_ pitiful. Sad.

"I-well, I said the kid was weak and that, and uh," he stammered.

"Go on," I said tranquilly.

"That docking the boats was poor work. I'd-uh, I'd never do it. now could you please let me up?" he squeaked.

"I will, I will. but first you gotta promise me you're not gonna take a swing at either of us or nothing, not gonna run out the door, right?"

He nodded, his dark eyes still wide. "Yeah, I promise...promise." When I stood up he scrambled to his feet.

"Your parents go up in that upstairs den a whole lot?" I asked.

"Nah, it's more for guests like. A nice living room and all," he answered quickly.

"Well then we gotta switch the phone from down here, with the one up there since when it fell on the floor, the rotary smashed," I stated. I surveyed the room for any other damage. "did you take the phone out of Pony's hands or did he throw it?"

"I uh, took it," he mumbled.

"Then we ain't gonna take the blame for that. We'll pick up the wood that got knocked ovber when the chair tipped, and put the furniture back where it was. You gotta clean up your own blood off the floor first though, it's a white floor, it might stain." He nodded obediently. I grinned.

"Wow boy, you kinda amaze me. You been actin' like you own the world but now alla' a sudden you're as meek as a lamb," I said, remembering the phrase my mom used all the time. "It's like you're, what's that word you said, skitsaceramic? What's that supposed to mean, exactly?"

"That it's like you got different personalities like, you know uh, like Sybil," he stammered, still not able to get back in his master-mode.

"Huh, skitsaceramic," I said, letting the word roll off my tongue. "You sure that's right, sure don't sound right." he nodded. I turned to Pony who was already re-stacking wood. "That right, Pon?"

Pony looked at me thoughtfully before saying, "Sure thinks a lot of himself, don't he Soda, for someone who doesn't even say Schizophrenic right."


	12. Chapter 12

_Megh: This isn't me reposting a chapter, it's last chapter plus the new stuff in one. I spent tonight combining chapters so we'd have a somewhat more compact storyline. I do not own The Outsiders or West Side Story._

* * *

--Day Three-- 

Me, Pony, and Anthony finished cleaning the living room up minutes before Jill came strolling through the door, a brown paper grocery bag under one arm. We all gave each other wide-eyed looks, if we hadn't finished when we did we would've been dead meat. For that moment me and Pony forgot we hated Anthony and Anthony forgot he hated us. We were in this mess together, even if Anthony did start it by ripping the phone out of Pony's hands. A sliver of ice dug into my chest when I remember Darry had been the one on the other line, making Tulsa seem so much closer.

"What are you boys up to?" Jill asked as she set a carton of milk in the fridge. It was a blue fridge, just like the stove.

"Playing Monopoly," I said immediately. Pony and Anthony stared at me crazily. I felt like kicking myself, that had to be the dumbest excuse ever. I could see a Monopoly box across the room, placed in a neat little stack between Clue and Scrabble.

"Monopoly?" Jill asked uncertainly.

"Yeah," I replied slowly. "We're _gonna_ play Monopoly. We're just strategizing, I bet Anthony ten bucks that I'll get both Park Place and Boardwalk."

Anthony and Pony nodded in agreement.

"Yep, Monopoly."

"Mhm, ten bucks."

Jill walked back over to her brown bag and lifted out a loaf of bread. She tapped a finger to her lips thoughtfully, then smiled gently. I grinned in return.

"I'm glad you boys are getting along better, but Anthony you should know better than accepting a bet. There's no gambling in this house," She said.

"In Monopoly money of course," I told her. She nodded and folded the paper bag then placed it on a pile of other paper bags in the corber I hadn't noticed before.

"Well I'm gonna go on upstairs a read for awhile, you boys behave yourselves." We nodded and kept nodding until she dissapeared up the stairs. We must've looked like idiots.

We played Monopoly for at least three hours and I was working hard not to set Anthony off, and I think he was, too. Maybe Monopoly is like nuetral territority. I laughed out loud at in image in my head of a couple American and Vietnamese soldiers playing Monopoly when bullets flew overhead. I was pulled back to reality when Pony nudged me in the ribs, an eyebrow raised. I looked arond the room and found myself with similar looks from Jill, David, and Anthony who I hadn't noticed in the room. The three of us had stopped playing awhile ago when Ponyboy efficiently gave reason to the game's name by owning his properties in groups and slowly began to take mine and Anthony's properties when money began to fail us.

The night actually seemed like it would be a quiet one until the phone rang around eight thirty with someone on the other line who was very unhappy with Mr. Anthony Moran.Who woulda thunk it?

"Anthony dear, it's for you," Jill said. She paused a moment and stared at the receiver.

"Isn't this the phone from up-" Anthony grabbed it out of her hands.

"Hello?" He asked boredly. His expression changed from bored to shocked very quickly.

"Mrs. Provencial, calm down, please, you're being really loud. If you could just slow-please! I can explain," he stammered, trying to make himself heard over the yelling we all could hear.

"That's Mrs. Provencial?" David asked, reaching for the phone. Anthony tried to keep him from grabbing the phone for a moment until a weird light came into his eyes and he handed it right over. David listened on the phone for a least five minutes, his face getting redder and redder until finally he slammed it back down

"Rhode Island sucks," David said his voice quivering with anger. "Does that sound familiar to you, Anthony?"

"N-no," he stuttered.

"Well it's going to be a really familiar phrase to Mrs. Provencial seeing as how it's been spray-painted on her front steps."

"I never did that!" He shouted. Liar, liar, liar. I knew it. I may cheat at poker, but when I play clean I'm pretty good. I'm real good at reading people's faces and let me tell you, this kid's got no poker face working for himself.

"Oh yeah, then who did? 'Cause it seems pretty funny that A.M. was under it, doesn't it?" David asked in mock-curiousity. You know I must've really been stupid to think for once Anthony was going to get in trouble, take the blame, and not be a total ass to Pony and me. Real, real stupid.

"It was Ponyboy and Sodapop," he said pointing in our direction. "They were trying to get me in trouble."

I could feel anger building up in me, ready to burst forward like a sling-shot. I don't know what is is, but patience completely exited my body once we landed in Rhode Island. I was ready to let loose defending Pony and me but Pony beat me to it. I let him, these people had never heard Pony argue. They didn't know what they were in for.

-----------------------------

"What the hell," Pony shouted at Anthony, being even louder than when David had tried to keep him from Calling Darry. "do you think you're doing? You know damn well neither me or Soda wrote that!"

"Ponyboy, lower your voice now!" David demanded.

"Lower my voice?" Pony scoffed. "You hypocrtical jerk, you seemed to have no problem with yourself yelling so why can't I? I wanna scream at the top of my lungs how fricking hypocrtical you are, the way you've acted ever since you found out Soda hit your precious son."

Jill sat stock-still staring at my brother, her face paled dramatically. David wasn't even trying to get a word in he was so shocked at Pony's screaming. Anthony had done a sort of shudder when Pony brought him up, he had quite enjoyed having the attention brought away from himself.

"Before Soda hit Anthony, man oh man, I actually believed somewhere in the back of my mind that despite the fact I'd rather be dead than here it might not be so bad. I'm so happy Soda hit Anthony though because he deserved it, your son is a liar and an asshole and you have no clue, none whatsoever! He tells everyone in class Sodapop's a murderer and you have the nerve to hit Soda, that is unbelievable. Anthony wrote that on whateverherface's steps, not us. We wouldn't do that because we know how idiotic it is, not just becuase we'd be sure to get caught, but because it's just plain stupid."

Jill stood up and began pacing a worn rag rug that led to her and David's bedroom, one hand on her forehead as though she might pull a Hollywood faint. After what seemed like ages of this she walked up to Anthony and put shaking hands on his shoulders, staring him in the face as though she was searching for the kid she had believed him to be but only finding the one Pony revealed.

"Anthony, go to your room," she whispered, dropping her hands. Looking utterly confused, he fled up the stairs. Looking as though she'd cry any second, Jill walked away, horribly slow, to her own bedroom. She couldn't take anymore of it. She hated me and Pony for taking her son and replacing him with one she was ashamed of like nothing else.

"You boys, just...go somewhere. Be back soon," David said distractedly. " I can't deal with this right now. I need to take care of Anthony."

Not saying anything for fear he'd change his mind, Pony and I hurried out the door. I still had no clue of where to go around here so we wandered awhile until we met up with a couple of girl's who had been in my classes the day before. Feeling the need to do something, anything, I asked where the nearest movie house was. They told us if we caught the bus we could head to Thayer Street and go to the Avon, the bus would go directly there and home when it got over. Pony perked slightly at this but not much, which dissapointed me a whole lot. I didn't even feel much like seeing a movie, but Pony hadn't said word since he quit going at it with David and I figured it'd help some.

Once we got there, we found that West Side Story was playing and even though I thought a lot of it was ridiculous, I couldn't help but get a little involved, figuring who of our gang would be who from the movie. As we clambered back onto the bus, Pony was still quiet, looking forlorn as anything.

"Baby John reminds me of Johnny a lot, you know, not just cause of his name but he just reminds me of him, doesn't he?" I said thoughtfully. Pony looked away from me. After a long minute I said softly, "You don't gotta be so sad all the time, Pony. Johnny's okay now, you know? I know you do. I know it hurts a helluva lot, it does for me, too but I'm not gonna pretend like you weren't closest to Johnny. But I miss him and Dal both. I miss mom and dad. I miss 'em all. We should be used to missing people by now, shouldn't we Pone? We miss Darry, but we're seeing him real soon. I'm not expecting you to quit being sad cause you've had it all come at you like it's been fired out of an AK-47 or something, but you can try."

It was another long minute before Pony said, "Imagine if we danced up the streets singing and dancing like that? The socs would laugh in our faces."

"Nah," I countered. "Cause they'd be dancing, too. We'd looking cooler though cause, When you're a greaser, you're a greaser all the way! from you first cigarette your last dyin' days!" I stood up and danced a little on the moving bus, people staring at me like I was something crazy. When I sat back down next to Pony he snapped a couple time then shoved me, "Beat it," he said, grinning at me. I laughed out loud and started singing, "Everywhere grime in Oklahoma, organised crime in Oklahoma, terrible time in Oklahoma. Can't wait to be home in Oklahoma!"


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: This has taken me four hours! I mean, I don't own The Outsiders._

* * *

--Day Six--

"Why do I hear a stampede? I wasn't aware I was at a zoo." Mrs. Strumolo shouted almost lazily as we tramped down the stairs to the basement for gym. She had given up awhile ago on actually trying to keep us quiet, it wasn't a battle worth fighting I guess. I grinned as I skipped over the last step, landing with a satisfying _thud, _I quite agreed. We deserve a chance to be as loud as we want after having education shoved down our throats for five hours non-stop, especially when we still had an hour to go before we'd even be really free.

"So do you like it here so far?" a girl named Kelly Durigan said as trotted along beside me, fighting to keep up with my long strides. I pulled my face into a sort of grimace, crossing my eyes.

"Don't cross your eyes or they'll get stuck like that," she teased with a laugh. It wasn't a soft, sweet, sliver bells laugh like Sandy had, it was even kind of loud, but it wasn't bad. I slowed down a little.

"Well I don't blame you, living with Anthony, I could never. He should've never said that about you the other day."

"Well I hope you'd never be in a situation where you'd have to live with him," I countered, smiling. "He's even worse outside of school."

"That was just so horrible of him," she muttered. We turned into the cafeteria, which was a long panelled room with small, chain-link covered windows lined up under the ceiling. Just looking at them made me feel claustrophobic. I always forget how prone I am to that suffocating feeling until something makes me feel closed in. I followed Kelly to a table, then sat on the side facing away from the windows and out the hall.

"It really was nothing like he said," I said with a slight shake of my head. "really not at all."

"I know. We all knew you were coming, word travels pretty fast through the parents, and they think _we_ gossip."

Kelly was nice. She had started talking to me when we were paired up in Chemistry once she gotten over her depression of not being paired up with her good girlfriend Tammy. I had to admit she was pretty, too, though I think it'd take the guys back home some convicing to agree because it didn't quite hit you right away. She had long cinnamon colored hair that had a navy ribbon running through it to keep out of her eyes which were ochre, and she was paler than any other girl I'd ever seen. But all the same she was pretty, and suprisingly easy to talk to. We talked for nearly the entire time while we waited for the gym teacher Mr. Evans to show up. Apparently he's pretty old and sometimes falls asleep in the teacher's room between classes and it takes awhile to convince him he has a class he needs to get to and no, he wasn't the only soldier left.

Finally, fifteen minutes into the period, Mr. Evans came limping through the room on a foot that was twisted in at an uncomfortable angle. I wondered if this was a recent injury, but he looked as though he didn't even notice it and the rest of the class didn't seem to either as they stared up at his face, waiting for him to tell us what we were going to do for the time remaining, that is everyone but Anthony and his friend with the chipped tooth. The two of them were staring at the deformity with vicious sneers. Feeling slightly disgusted by the two of them I looked up at Evans along with everyone else.

"To-day, I am goingtoallowyou to have a vo-te on what ac-tiv-ity youwouldallliketodo." Once again I found myself looking for everyone else's reactions and yet again they seemed to not find anything out of the ordinary. I couldn't imagine someone talking like that everyday, so slow for some words that by the time they finished it you forget how it even started and then so quick for the next few you want to ask them to repeat themselves. I was startled back to attention when Evans resumed speaking, this time putting his foot to the gas right away.

"Yourchoicesarekickballdodgeballhandballbasketballbaseballsoftballfootball, or bad-mint-on."

My mouth dropped in disbelief. I'd never heard anyone, not even Two-Bit, talk that fast. I didn't even have time to think about my vote when hands were already being raised, both willingly and forced.

"Kickball!" seemed to be what most people were shouting, but I guess if they had tried to vote for a different game the first half of the word could've been lost in the screams of those in favor of kickball. I didn't really care too much what we played, if I had to I guess I'd vote for football or baseball but I like kickball a lot, too. It's different.

Before I knew it we were outside on the tar of the church parking lot and my team, we were playing boys against girls, was batting first. Tell me something, if it's kickball, then why are you still called a batter?

"Oh, Brendan's first, huh? Back it up girls this boy has feet of flames," Kelly's friend Tammy shouted from her spot at the pitcher's mound, well, manhole cover. Tammy rolled the ball but rather than going straight, it bumped a rock and strayed to the left. Brendan caught it up in his hands and tossed it back.

"I'd appreciate it if you rolled it to my feet, Tammy, if you don't mind."

This time Tammy made sure to roll it straight but we were the only ones who benefitted, Brendan kicked the ball high enough so it didn't just go straight up and down, but glided over the girl's heads, just out of their reach, an instant homerun the moment his foot made contact.

Jeremy stepped up to the plate next, from what I gathered today he was a pretty goofy kid but really smart. I wondered how he'd do up.

"Je-em!" Kelly shouted from the outfeild, soon all the girls were yelling "Je-em!", sounding like demented birds.

Tammy rolled the ball and Jeremy kicked it, he was already halfway to first when someone screamed shrilly, "foul!" and he had to go one back. The same thing happened the second time. The third time he was getting ready to bat, my team was going insane on the kid. I felt myself scowl unintentionally when I heard Anthony's voice.

"You have to flick it, Jem, flick it!" He screamed, flipping the toe of his foot up in the air exaggeratedly. Jeremy rolled his eyes and turned back to the feild. Tammy pitched, and he sent it out in right, earning himself a double and us a run.

"How'd you like that, Anthony!" He hollered from him base. Anthony stalked up to the plate. The first time Tammy sent it to him, Anthony's right foot went out...and up...along with his left foot...and down, down to the ground he went.

"Man, you have got to teach me that one, Anthony," the girl on third said with a low whistle. His face turning a brilliant shade of red, he picked himself back up and stood ready. He kicked it, and Tammy caught it, earning us our first out, which ultimately ended up being our only out that inning because of the ten run rule.

A half hour later, we were winning 29 to 11, and those girls were looking for revenge.And let me tell you, any of us would've had the right to of been a little afraid because those girls meant buisness. One of the popped the ball it hit them so hard when the caught it, another one's knee was bleeding for diving for home, and yet another was nursing a sore shoulder from refusing to believe she had no chance and running straight into our second baseman. They had two outs, it was the bottom of the ninth. Kelly was up.

"I'll go easy on you," I said, rolling the ball so slow it stopped two feet in front of me. "That should be slow enough for you to kick it."

"Haha, very funny," she said, sticking her tongue out. I snatched the ball up with one hand and shrugged.

"Fine, I won't." I pitched the ball fast, Kelly didn't even have to to think to kick it and rather had to jump over it.

"From one extreme to another, huh?" she said. I nodded.

"Always."

I pitched it normal the next time but even still she kicked it foul.

"Oh, Kelly, two strikes? I'm so sorry, but don't cry, please," I joked. She raised her hands up and fluttered her fingers.

"Bring it on."

I didn't even know what happened. She kicked it hard, and she kicked it straight, and I didn't have time to get out of the way. The next thing I knew I doubled over on the ground, forcing myself not to whimper and laugh instead.

"Oh that has got to hurt," I heard somone groan. Every boy huddled up around me and dragged me to my feet while Kelly circled the bases. I was still fighting for my voice when a car pulled right in the middle of our feild. A red Vista Cruiser.

"Soda, come on in the car. I've got to tell you something."


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: If you really think I own The Outsiders, we could have some problems._

* * *

Ponyboy's POV --Day Six--

I jumped my foot up and down on the floor excitedly. I hadn't been excited in so long that it was a foreign feeling and at first I almost slipped back into the abnormally quiet reserve I had adopted. But I didn't. Instead I let the feeling course through me and reached mechanically into my pocket for a celebratory cigarette, only to find none. That's when it hit me how long I had actually gone without smoking. I tried to tell myself that it was good thing since I'd been trying to cut down anyway but that didn't stop my jaws from aching with the thought of one. So I try my best to focus on being happy.

"Good God, kid, do you think you could calm it down for a minute?" David said, turning to stare at me. When I don't quit moving my leg he turned back around and unrolle the window.

"Soda, come on into the car. I've got to tell you something."

I could feel myself start to grin when Soda opened the door and climbed in beside me. Immediately I burst out, "Sodapop, we've got our trial date! We're going home!" Then because I don't know whether to cry or laugh I started to laugh hysterically. If David said anything else about me calming down I didn't hear it because all I heard was Soda saying, "Well what do we have here, the kid's drunk off just being happy." And that seemed to me like the funniest thing ever and I replied, "I'm very drunk and I intend on getting still drunker before this evening's over!"

Then Soda laughed and maybe even David, too, but neither of them laughed as hard as I did because they didn't even know the half of it.

--Day Seven--

"Man, Soda, I'm so glad we're home. Like you can't even believe it. I really want to apologize to Darry for acting the way I did after the fi-thing happened, I don't know why I'm so selfish sometimes." I was whispering because it was coming close to midnight and there were sleepy little kids everywhere hanging on their parent's hands. I was whispered but I could've been shouting I was feeling just so fortunate.

"Nah, Pone." Was all Soda said but he smiled when he said it.

We edged out way towards the front of the plane and once again I felt ready to fly through the ceiling. It's funny but then I realized how much you miss something when it's not your choice. I missed Darry something awful but if you had told me a few months that I'd miss him I'd laugh in your face. But I did miss him and I was filled with a burning sort of jealousy when I thought of how Steve and Two-Bit could get a visit from Darry whenever he was in the neighborhood. If you can't relate to that, relate to this. It's like how you miss a pair of jeans that are worn through in the knees and the pockets are hanging off because someone took them to the Salvation Army while you were at school. So you spend the rest of your day griping and sulking and thinking of how you don't want anyone to have them but you. So you try to comfort yourself by saying that the people who wear them aren't going to know that the red wasn't just paint but it was blood from a fight and that once you tripped in horse shit at a rodeo in those jeans. But then you feel sick with yourself because you're reminded that jeans don't come cheap and someone will be happy as a clam in them no matter what. I was sick with myself them because it wasn't fair of me to hate Two-Bit and Steve for something that wasn't their fault to begin with and I didn't want to hate them anyways, even if Steve and I mix like oil and water.

when Soda and I finally squeezed out of the plane we practically ran down the ramp and started to search frantically for our older brother. It didn't seem like he was anywhere but finally Soda spotted him He wasn't in our terminal but in the next one down and was staring out the window with a troubled look on his face.

"Dar-" I started to shout but Soda grabbed me by the shoulder and clamped a hand over my mouth."Shush your face, Ponyboy!"

I shook myself out of his grip and ran the rest of the way. It took Soda barely anytime at all to quit trying to act appropriate in public and run after me.

I had misjudged how close we were and didn't have time to put the brakes on when I reached him so the sharp part of my nose ended up slamming right into his firm shoulder and stumbling to the floor.

"What the hell is going on-"

"We're back!" Soda said excitedly, grabbing the back of my shirt and yanking me up.

"Ponyboy, you ain't crying are you?" Darry grinned to me. I wasn't, but my eyes were watering from when I whacked my nose on his shoulder. I told him that and he shook his head.

"Never use your head," he said jokingly, trying to shove Soda away since he was pummeling him with a shower of play punches. I grabbed Soda's shoulders and try to help Darry out but Soda turned on me and twisted my hands behind my back.

"How dare you!"

We ended up in a sort of scuffle and were yelling names at each other, all just playing, when a security gaurd came sauntering over to us. We didn't hear him at first but finally we heard him say loudly, "Is there a problem here?"

Soda let go of my arms but my feet were still in the air kicking at Darry so once again I ended up on the floor.

"No, Sir, there's not," Darry said. "Not a problem at all."


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: If you really think I own The Outsiders, we could have some problems.

Ponyboy's POV --Day Five--

"You're kidding, aren't you?" I said flatly. Isaacs shook his head while scratching at the stubble on his neck. I barely saw him doing it; I was thinking of Dallas. Maybe it was only because he was the only cop who wasn't out to get Dal but when I looked at him I felt like I was looking at Dally as an old man with the colorless beard and all. I bit back a laugh at the thought; Dally as a cop is just too much.

"Nah, kid, I'm not. I'm real sorry but Evans made sure that you wouldn't be able to get on in here. He said that one of you got Mathews and Randle riled up enough and that with three there'd be a riot."

I tapped my foot impatiently on the ground and took a drag off the weed I was holding between my fingers. One of the first things I did this morning was scrounge up at pack of cigarettes. I was getting real irritated real quick.

"But that isn't fair!" I protested. I turned to face Darry. "What could you have possibly done?" I was having a hard time imagining Darry making a scene anywhere, never mind there at Tulsa County. I was about to bring my cigarette back up to my lips when Soda snatched it out of my hands and took a hit. Darry and me exchanged looks, momentarily forgetting about Isaacs.

"I just can't, okay? I'm sorry boys but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," Isaacs said uncomfortably. I dragged my gave away from Darry. Anger crawled into my chest and made itself cozy right on top of my heart. I breathed out hard in an attempt to force it away but it just burrowed deeper. The next time I opened my mouth I did more than breathe.

"I wanna see my friends! I haven't seen them in I don't even know how long!" the words tore at my throat. If I had been at home the crying would've started but there was no way in hell I'd start crying there. "Y'all just love to keep my buddies in here, don't you? And the best part is Two-Bit and Steve didn't even do anything! Boy howdy, that's real boss is what that is, really cool," I shouted. I would've said more, too, if it wasn't for the for the fact that Soda's arms suddenly went around my shoulders, one hand clapped over my mouth. He pulled me away towards the door and it was only then that I realized I had been practically nose to nose with Isaacs.

"I'll be right with you two," Darry said in a low voice. He faced Isaacs and started talking to him. I couldn't hear it though because he was being too quiet.

When we got outside I kicked wildly at Soda. It wasn't play fighting like it had been at the airport; I wanted to hurt him.There was fire in my veins and every muscle and bone in my body ached to hit him until I couldn't hit anything any more.

"Cut it out right now," he hissed in my ear. He shook me hard. I was reminded on the day I got jumped and Darry had been shaking me. That made me fight even harder. I couldn't see a thing; it was all a blur of gray concrete and red brick.

"I mean it!" He screamed and kicked me right behind my left knee, making me fall to the ground. He backed away, panting. I saw Darry's boots on the ground a few feet off.

"Ponyboy, what are you doing? Get up!" When I didn't move and just kept staring at his feet dumbly he strode over and pulled me up by my armpits. I stomped over to our truck and climbed inside of the cab. A few moments later my brothers slid in on either side of me. Darry stuck the key in the ignition and the truck grumbled in irritation. He didn't say anything until we pulled out onto the road.

"You deserved that, Pony. I don't know what would go on in your mind to make you cause a scene like that but it sure was stupid," he said quietly. I glared at him furiously.

"From what I hear you ain't so great at keeping from making scenes, either! My God-"

"Quit acting like this is all about you, Ponyboy!" Soda cut in harshly. The anger in my chest turned to something cold I couldn't identify right then. I didn't say anything. Darry didn't say anything. Soda went on. "Two-Bit might be your friend but don't pretend like you wanted to see Steve. I know you hate him so just stop pretending!"

"Soda, I did want to see him," I said quietly. When I first said it I had figured it would be a lie but it turned out not to be. No matter how horribly the two of us got along I didn't want him in the cooler. He was Soda's buddy. And I guess the thought of not seeing him was like the equivalent of hole in the wall that you can't stand suddenly being spackled over. I know that doesn't sound too sincere, but it is. I'm sure you can understand what I'm getting at anyway. "I was trying to get us all in. Not just me."

"Yeah, well even somebody as spacey as yourself should know that screaming won't get you nowhere in a place like that. Darry's right, you don't use your head," he said coldly. I was surprised to hear Darry say softly, "Hey now, Pepsi-Cola, he said he was just trying."

"Don't you be acting like you don't think it was a stupid thing to do!" Soda cried, his brown eyes full of rage. I looked away from his face, ashamed. Then I said softly with a slight edge of sarcasm, more to myself than either of my brothers, "Well jeez, I really just know how to screw everything up. Who knew that when you're doing something for your brothers but you want it too makes you an ass. I'll have to think next time."

"Well I sure hope you do," Soda replied, turning to stare out the window.


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: Nahhh._

* * *

--Day Seven--

Halfway through the ride home I decided I was going to go crazy. It had been silent since we left the jail and I couldn't stand it much longer and found it getting harder and harder to stay angry at Soda. And the thought of Soda being mad at me, I couldn't stand that either. It'd been a real slap in the face when Soda had started hollering at me. I'd always assumed that he'd stand by me no matter what, he'd understand my motives, and even if he didn't he'd accept them for the mere fact they were mine. I could deal with Darry yelling at me, that was routine enough, but not him. I couldn't bear the quiet any longer.

"Hey, Sodapop," I said, nudging him in the side with my elbow, praying he didn't hate me. He didn't look at me, just tipped his head in my direction. I took a deep breath and held it, thinking of what I could possibly say. I _wanted_ to say something like, "I'm sorry I got you so angry. I can't stand you being mad at me and I hope you aren't. I don't hate Steve. I thought I did but I don't. He's like a hole in the wall that you hated to stare at but once it's gone you miss it. I'm sorry I only thought of myself." But that sounded awkward and clumsy even in my head, especially the hole in the wall bit. I wondered why I even thought of that comparision in the first place. So instead of saying any of that I said, "So, how 'bout them RedHawks?"

He turned to me slowly and stared at me momentarily with an unreadable expression. Then he cracked a grin and said laughingly, "Well how the hell am I supposed to know? All we did while we were in 'Roe Dylan" was race around some old town, eat cookie dough, and sing show tunes."

"I stand by it, you're both nuts," Darry said cheerfully.

"And I stand by what Soda said, it runs in the family," I teased, vaguely shocked with myself. Didn't I once say that I'd just as soon tease a full grown grizzly? I wasn't worried with Darry getting sore over something so silly then, though. There was no time to. I couldn't stop with the wise-ass remarks after that either. When Darry took a hand off the steering wheel to give me a noogie, I ducked and leaned in Soda saying, "Hey, you might be Superman but don't be takin' your hands off the wheel; another car could be your kryptonite." Thinking over it now, that was a real stupid thing to say considering what memories it could pull to the surface but no one seemed to notice. Heck, I didn't even notice at the time and I said it.

When we got to the house I immediated raced up the steps and into the kitchen to check the ice box for cake. When I found none I lit into Darry playfully.

"What's this? no cake! Why Darry, I'm shocked and ashamed! Did you think that a week could make us lose our taste for chocolate?" As I calculated the number of days we'd been gone in my head I couldn't of been more shocked to find out it had only been a week. It'd felt ten times longer than Windrixville and there was hardly any difference in time.

"I knew I'd forgotten something! God, what is wrong with me?" Darry said, half-serious, half-joking. Soda kicked off his shoes by the door and tossed his into the hall. He took a running leap at Darry, throwing his arms around his neck. Darry hardly even wobbled and yanked Soda off him with ease.

"Easy there, I've still been working this week and my muscles are killing me. I've got something screwed up in my neck; mind trying to work it out?"

Soda crossed his arms on his chest and said sniffily, "Yes, I do as a matter of fact. I've found that planes quite tire me out and-" Darry threw a baby punch at Soda's stomach, causing him to sigh theatrically and to give in as though being held upside-down by his toes.

After a couple minutes of rubbing Darry's shoulder Soda jerked his head in my direction to come over to him. I did so casually. When I reached him he spoke to me in undertones, giving me a plan of action of how to tickle Darry. I completely forget that Darry wasn't ticklish and paid dearly with being tickled myself, Soda immediatly turning Benedict and joining Darry's side.

Later on when I went to bed I found myself tired but unable to sleep for want of memorizing every crack on the ceiling, the exact way the street light shone through the curtains and fell over the comforter, the way my books looked so comfortable in the shelf and just how the pictures sat on my desk. I was so wrapped up in this inward inventory of memories I hardly heard Soda when he whispered my name.

"Ponyboy?" he repeated, shifting up onto his elbow, causing the blanket to slide off my foot. A gust off wind from the open window hit my skin and I pulled it up under the covers.

"Hm?"

"I didn't mean it. What I said, you know."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too," I replied, shutting my eyes.

Soda could always remember that the easiest way to say things is to just go ahead and say it; that the smallest words can say it best.


End file.
